


Breaking Through

by SilverDragonfyre



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Agender Frisk, F/M, Original Character(s), Other, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-08-23 14:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 22,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8331250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverDragonfyre/pseuds/SilverDragonfyre
Summary: The Underground is caught in an endless cycle of resets.  Over and over Chara plays with the lives of the monsters, forcing Frisk to kill again and again.  Then someone new appears and breaks into their lives and changes things forever.  This new woman is able to save Frisk from Chara and vows to help Frisk however they can.  Can they help Frisk save the underground?___CURRENTLY ON HIATUS AND GOING THROUGH REWRITES!  DO NOT PANIC, I WILL RETURN!I'm terrible at summaries.  Go ahead and give this a shot.  XDAs a note, I started writing this fic on Quotev first, so if you recognize it, I promise I'm the same person.





	1. Journal Entry #3,042

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick note to let you all know, this first entry may see a little weird and also very short, but don't worry, we end up in the Undertale universe in the next chapter.  Enjoy!

I've finished my work in this world.  The world-ending dragon has been slain, and the mighty hero has returned to their home safely with their companions.  This world is safe, and they are happy.  I've said my goodbyes.  I'm no longer needed here.

It's the same thing every time, really.  I'm happy when things turn out well, but I can't help but feel disappointed that I never seem to have a place once the dangers are clear.  Perhaps I'm not meant to have a home to call my own anymore? It's been so long...  
          
At any rate, I have my sword and dagger, my bag (which needs mending again, now that I look at it), and this journal, of course.  All my personal belongings.  Time to find a new world to visit.  Maybe I'll find a home there?  Or maybe find some new crisis to assist with. Somewhere I'll be needed.  
          
_~~The next section of the journal is filled with strange diagrams that remind you of constellations, possible calculations, and all sorts of strange symbols you've never seen before.  It's almost like a mysterious blend of science, math, and magic.  Some of the drawings are crossed out while one or two are circled.  It all seems incomprehensible.  The writing picks up again below.~~_  
          
Phasing to a new dimension is always dangerous and exhausting.  There's always the ever-present danger of getting trapped in the Void Between Worlds.  This next world, though...I don't know.  Something seems off about it.  Almost all possible endpoints I find are highly unstable.  They exist for a moment, vanish the next, and then are replaced by something similar, but different.  What could possibly be causing this?  
          
_~~Some more drawings follow, even more complicated than the ones before.  One ends up taking up a whole page.~~_  
          
Finally!  I've found one point that is relatively stable.  There are some minor inconsistencies, but by far this will be the best point to land in the new world.  I'm going to have to be very careful once I get there, though.  This phase is going to take more energy than normal.  A lot more.  
          
Oh, I'm suddenly reminded.  According to my data crystal, my birthday was a couple of days ago.  I don't even know how old I am anymore.  It's hard to keep track of time when each universe moves at its own speed.  Maybe I'm not even aging anymore.  At any rate, happy late birthday, Krys.  
          
_~~A couple last minute calculations follow this last passage.  Then the page ends with a unique symbol not seen in the other diagrams.  The careful arrangement of circles and triangles remind you of a very stylized angel.~~_


	2. Entering the Underground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krys appears in the ruins and finds the first signs of life there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're in the underground! Told you it wouldn't take long.

        Journal Entry #3,043  
        Here we go.

~*~*~*~*~  
          
The dark was endless.  The black of nothing stretched forever in every direction.  The dark mists and whispers of the Void between worlds drifted aimlessly, until they spotted something different.  Something new.    
         
A light.  
         
The mists and whispers gathered around the light, trying to push against it.  They were hungry.  
         
The source of the light was the unconscious body of a woman.  Her dark hair was styled in a long french braid that fell to her low back.  Her skin was tanned, with faint scars running along her arms.  The woman wore a loose-fitted cream-colored shirt.  Her dark pants were tucked into tall brown leather boots laced up to just below her knees.  A sword and dagger hung at her left side, and a shoulder bag hung off her right.  Over it all, she was wearing a gray cloak that fanned around her as she floated in the darkness.  
         
The mists tried to take hold of this woman.  Thin wisps of the dark mists plucked at her clothes and hair, trying to grab her.  They avoided the weapons at her side.  The whispers rose in number and increased in their hunger, their fury.  The void seemed to ring and echo in their ferocity.  The formless beings pushed against the light, circling it so thickly that the glow was nearly blotted out.  
         
Until the woman opened her eyes.  
         
A shockwave sent the formless beings back from her.  The light around the woman intensified.    
         
The mists were not pleased.  
         
The woman straightened, as if standing.  With her right arm outstretched before her, her vivid blue eyes focused on the space in front of her.  Energy circled and gathered into a silver-white sphere in front of her palm.    
         
The beings of the Void violently bashed against the light, struggling to find a way back to this intruding woman.  The whispers were furious.  
         
The woman did not tear her eyes away from the glowing sphere in front of her.  The sphere brightened until its light was blinding.  Then a sound somewhere between shattering glass and tearing cloth ripped through the Void.  The light and the woman were gone.  
         
Krys had broken through.

~*~*~*~*~  
         
When Krys next opened her eyes, she found herself standing in a small patch of golden flowers bathed in a beam of sunlight.  She examined her surroundings, taking note of the stalactites in the ceiling far above her.  
         
"Interesting," she murmured.  "I seem to be underground."  
         
She stepped out of the light and examined the walls of this cave.  The walls had been smoothed and painted purple.  Unfamiliar runes ran across the walls.  Someone had taken great care to make this chamber into something more than just a simple cave.  Krys noted some of these new symbols into her journal for later study.  
         
Feeling air moving about her, Krys looked up and spotted a doorway in the far wall.  Slipping her journal back into her bag, Krys approached the door.  A quiet sense of excitement built within her.  She looked forward to exploring this new world.  
         
A sudden wave of dizziness and nausea forced her to lean against a nearby wall for support.  She pressed her palms to her forehead, fighting to remain standing.  Finally the feeling passed leaving Krys hunched over and breathless.  
          
It's ok, Krys.  You just used a bit too much energy coming through the Void.  Nothing a little food and a nap won't solve.  You're fine.  
         
She looked down.  Her hands were trembling.  She willed them to still.  
         
I'm fine.  
         
Voices.  
         
Krys' head jerked up towards the doorway.  The voices were coming from the other side.  
         
Immediately dropping into a crouch, Krys sneaked up to the doorway and peeked through.  The next room was very similar to the first chamber, except that there were pillars placed every so often to support the cave roof above.  In the center of the room was a pool of light.  A small human, who could not have been older than nine or ten years old, stood facing away from Krys.  A mop of brown hair adorned their head, and they wore a blue and purple striped sweater and a pair of shorts.  From this distance Krys could not tell if the child was a boy or girl.  
         
In front of the child was one of the strangest things Krys had seen in a while.  It was a golden flower.    
         
With a face.


	3. First Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krys saves a young human child in this strange underground place.

Krys ducked behind one of the pillars near the door.  The strange flower hadn't seen her, even though it was facing her.  It seemed too intent on the child in front of it.  
          
"So kid," the flower sneered at the child.  "You managed to reset on your own this time?"  The flower's face twisted into an ugly mocking expression.  "Think that by going back you can erase what you've done, huh?  Well, I remember everything!"  It leaned closer to the child.  "Chara remembers too."  
          
The child hugged themselves and shook their head.  Even from this distance, Krys could see them trembling.  The poor kid was terrified.  
          
The flower just giggled madly.  "Let's try something a little different this time."  
          
The child suddenly broke away and tried to sprint past the flower, but vines burst from the ground and tangled around the kid's legs.  When they fell to the ground, more vines sprouted to take hold of their arms, pinning them to the child's body.  The vines lifted the child and turned them to face the flower again.  Now Krys could see their terrified face.  
          
And she had seen enough.  Krys silently drew her sword and stepped out from behind the pillar.  The flower was so intent on its victim that it didn't hear her movements.  
          
"You were so close," the flower hissed.  "You were almost to the end!  But you got soft.  You let Smiley Trashbag kill you."  
          
Three steps away.  
          
"Well, it doesn't matter.  Chara will come back for you.  She always does."  
          
Two steps away.  
          
"While we wait, how about I kill you this time?"  
          
One step.  
          
White pellets suddenly appeared all around the trapped child.  A glowing red cartoon-ish heart appeared in front of the kid's chest.    
          
The flower laughed triumphantly.  "Die."  
          
The flower's demonic laughter was cut short when it felt the sharp blade of Kry's sword against its stem.    
          
"You feel that?" Krys asked, her voice quiet and menacing.  "This sword has cut through rock and bone with ease.  How do think your plant body will fare against it?  One flick of my wrist and you're dead."  
          
The white pellets vanished, and the flower turned slowly to face Krys.  It appeared shocked, and also afraid.  
          
Krys quickly glanced and the kid, who was also surprised at her sudden appearance.  Tears were forming in their eyes.  Krys tightened her grip on her sword and prepared to strike, but a quiet voice stopped her.  
          
"Please," the child whispered.  "Please don't..."  
          
The woman looked back at the child, and then at the trembling plant.  She frowned, and pulled the sword away.  
          
"Leave," she growled.  
          
With a small "pop!" the flower was gone, disappearing underground.  Krys glared at the vacant spot before sheathing her sword and crouching down in front of the child.  Vines still wrapped around their limbs, but not as tightly now that the demonic flower was gone.  The glowing red heart had floated back into the kid's chest.  
          
"Hey there," she smiled at the small human.  The child looked away, a tear streaming down their cheek.  "I'm not here to hurt you, sweetheart."  Her left hand pulled the dagger from her belt.  "I just need you to stay still for a few moments, ok?" she said, as she switched the dagger to her right hand.  "This thing is rather sharp, and I don't want to nick you by mistake."  
          
The brown haired child looked back at her and seemed to relax after a moment.  They nodded.    
          
Carefully, Krys began to cut away the vines, starting with the ones wrapped around the child's arms.  Just as she managed to free their hands, a second wave of dizziness washed over her, stronger than the first one.  The dagger clattered to the floor as she fell forward onto her hands and knees.  Finally, it too passed, leaving Krys shaking and feeling weak.  When she opened her tired eyes, she realized the child had finished untangling themselves from the vines and had their arms wrapped around her in an awkward sort of hug.  
          
"Hey, kid.  It's ok," she patted their back and carefully shifted so that she was sitting on the ground.  "I'm just tired, and need to rest a bit.  Came a long way, you see."  She tried to give the child a reassuring smile.  
          
The kid wasn't fooled.  They just gave her a worried look and sat down in front of her.    
          
Krys sighed.  "Ok, well..." she trailed off for a moment thinking.  "Let me introduce myself, at least.  My name is Krys.  What's yours?"  
          
The child hesitated for a moment.  Then Krys heard their quiet voice again.    
          
"My name is Frisk."


	4. Souls and Silver Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krys meets Chara.

"My name is Frisk."  
          
Krys' smile grew.  From the voice, Frisk sounded like they could be a young girl, but Krys had learned over the years that it was far better to ask than guess.  "That's a good name!  I'm glad to meet you, Frisk.  Pardon my rudeness, but are a boy or a girl?  It is often difficult for me to tell with children."  
          
Frisk smiled shyly back.  "Neither, actually.  I consider myself gender neutral."  
          
Krys nodded and offered her hand.  "Fair enough."    
          
Frisk was quick to accept the handshake, and they continued to smile at Krys, but she could tell something was still bothering them.  
          
"You want to tell me what's wrong, Frisk?"  
          
The kid looked down at her hands and clenched them into fists.  Silent tears began falling.  After a few moments, Frisk began to speak.  "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore, but...Chara won't let me."  Krys waited, not wanting to interrupt.  "She keeps making me kill them all.  Over and over.  I can't stop it.  I can't stop her!"  Frisk's voice started breaking, and their speech began picking up speed.  "She resets, so everyone comes back, but makes me kill them again!  I don't want to kill anyone anymore!"  Frisk started shaking.  Krys moved over and wrapped her arms around them in a gentle hug.  "S-so, when I was fighting Sans...I finally got control again...and I reset.  I came back, but...."  
          
Krys just held the child close to her, letting them cry into Krys' shoulder.  Quite honestly, she didn't understand what Frisk was talking about when they mentioned resets, but perhaps it was a sort of time travel?  
          
That would explain why I had such a hard time finding a stable endpoint when she was trying to plot her route to this world...Also probably how Frisk says they died but are clearly still alive here...Unless Frisk's crazy?  
          
She glanced down at Frisk, still crying, and gave them a gentle squeeze.  
          
 _No...I didn't sense a broken mind...._

Krys just sat there, continuing to hold Frisk, until their tears slowed, and breathing calmed.  She softly stroked Frisk's brown hair, and sighed quietly.  
          
 _Man, I haven't had to comfort anyone like this since my little brothe-_  
          
She quickly cut off her thought there.  Can't think about them now.  It won't do any good.  No.  
          
With one final sniffle, Frisk pulled away from Krys.  They gave her a shaky smile.  
          
"Thank you..."  
          
Krys smiled again.  "I'm going to help you, Frisk, in any way that I can."  
          
Frisk returned the smile, and then their eyes glanced at something behind Krys.  Eerie child-like laughter echoed throughout the room.  Frisk stiffened up and backed away.  Krys scrambled to her feet and whirled around, hand gripping the hilt of her sword, and found the source of the laughter and of Frisk's fear.    
          
A ghostly figure had manifested behind her.  It looked very similar to Frisk, with a mop of brown hair and a similar body shape.  They wore similar clothes too, a striped sweater, green and yellow in color as opposed to Frisk's blue and purple, and shorts.  The ghost's eyes were glowing red, and there seemed to be an unnatural permanent smile stretched across their lips.  A dark aura was gathered around it, reminding Krys of the blacks mists of the Void.  Then it began to speak.  
          
"Oh, Friiiiiisk," it said in a sing-song sort of tone.  "Who's your new friend?"  The voice was of a little girl, but the tone was...wrong, twisted.    
          
"Go away!" Frisk shouted.  
          
"Oh Frisk," the ghost replied, "You know I can't do that.  Besides, I need you to finish what we started."  Its grin grew wider.  
          
"No, Chara!  I won't do it anymore!"  
          
Krys narrowed her gaze.  So this was Chara.  
          
"Leave Frisk alone," she growled.  
          
The ghost seemed surprised and focused its gaze on Krys for the first time.  "Oh!  You can see me?"  It looked around Krys at the trembling child behind her.  "Where did you find such a special new friend, Frisk?"  
          
"I said, leave Frisk alone!"   
          
Chara simply laughed, as if Krys had told her the most clever joke.  "I don't know who you are, stranger, but there's nothing you can do to stop me."    
          
A small grunt of pain from Frisk caught Kry's attention, and she turned to see what had happened.  The red heart she had seen earlier when the flower was fighting Frisk had returned, drawn out of Frisk's body and hovering in front of Frisk's chest.  Now, however, black mists gathered around it, leaving oily residue wherever it touched the heart.  Frisk just fell to their knees, shaking.  Krys could faintly hear them whimper, "I'm sorry..."  
          
"You see, stranger," the ghostly child continued, "that red heart is Frisk's soul, everything they are.  I can control their soul, and thus control them, and once I take retake control of Frisk's soul, I'm not going to let Frisk escape so easily again.  We're going to start all over again.  Maybe we can use that pretty knife you dropped there?"  Chara pointed at the dagger on the ground and laughed.  "You can't stop me.  Your sword is useless, unless you want to kill Frisk right now before I take over.  Even then it'll just cause another reset, and I'll be back again."  She giggled some more.  "Isn't that right, Frisk?"  
          
Krys turned her focus onto Frisk.  The poor child was shaking, but she noticed Frisk's eyes were slowly changing color, from a deep brown, to a dull red.  Kry's hand dropped from her sword.  She was not going to slay an innocent child.  There had to be another way....  
          
Then her eyes turned to the red heart, Frisk's soul, and the black mists that circled around it.  
          
 _That's it!_  
          
She knelt down with Frisk, and gently cupped her hands below their soul, and began summoning her magic.  The instant Krys reached for her power, she knew she was making a mistake.  She was still very weak from phasing into this world.  Dizziness and nausea swept through her body, but Krys pushed past those sensations, concentrating entirely on the fragile soul in front of her.  Slowly her hands began to glow with a silver light.  
          
"What do you think you're doing, stranger?" came a voice from behind her.  Chara sounded genuinely curious.  
          
Krys didn't answer.  Strands of silver light drifted up from her palms up to the heart, cutting between the mists.    
         
"I asked what were you doing?"  This time she sounded threatening, but Krys could hear something else.  Worry.  
          
The strands of light thickened as they wound around the soul.  Black spots began to swim in Kry's vision.  Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead.  She kept pressing forward.  The light brightened in her hands, becoming something like fire.    
          
"Stop!" Chara screamed.  
          
With one final push, Krys caused the silver fire to flow from her hands up the silver strands of light around Frisk's soul, burning away the black mists.    
          
"Stop it!!"    
          
The fire solidified around the soul, burning away the black tar the mists had left on it.  The glow from Krys' hands faded, but the flame around the heart continued to burn.  Carefully, Krys guided the soul back into Frisk's chest.  Once it had returned to their body, Frisk jerked their head up to face Krys, bewildered.  Krys smiled in satisfaction as she saw Frisk's eyes.  They were brown again.   
          
"What did you do?!" Chara growled.  
          
Krys stood on trembling legs and turned to face the ghost child, the silver fire flickering around her fingers.  "I burned away your influence, Chara.  As long as I'm here, you cannot control Frisk again."  
          
Chara's face twisted into one of the angriest expressions Krys had ever seen.  Then the demonic smile returned.  "Then I'll just have to get rid of you!"    
          
Chara lunged at Krys, hands suddenly clutching a spectral knife, its blade colored black with the same dark energies that surrounded the spirit.  Just before Chara's knife could strike, Krys' eyes flashed, and her body was engulfed in silver flames, sending Chara flying back.  Some of the flames branched out from Krys' back and spread out on either side of her, almost like wings.  Her blue eyes glared down at Chara's angry face.    
          
"Not today," Krys whispered.  
          
She extended her right palm, and a wave of flames swept over Chara.  The flames burned away the darkness surrounding the ghost girl before engulfing the spirit, obscuring the ghost's form.  Chara screamed.  Then the flames died down and faded, as if they were never there, and the demon child was gone.    
          
Krys lowered her hand back to her side, and slowly her power began to dissipate.  The wings of fire folded behind her and faded.  As the rest of the silver fire dwindled away, Krys heard a faint voice in her head.  
          
"I'll be back, stranger...You can't get rid of me that easily..."  
          
"Krys!" Frisk cried, drawing the woman out of her thoughts.  "That was amazing!"  
          
The woman smiled and went to pat Frisk's head, but her knees gave out under her, dropping Krys to the ground.  Frisk grabbed the woman before she could collapse completely, wrapping their arms around Krys and holding her tightly, but the small child couldn't hold her up.  Instead Frisk guided Krys down to the ground, so that she was laying on her side.  
          
"Krys!  What's wrong?  What's happening?!" Frisk cried, tears forming in their eyes.  "Please don't die!"  
          
Carefully taking a breath in, Krys tried to focus her wavering gaze on Frisk.  "I'm not...dying....Frisk..." Krys breathed out.  "Just...tired....very.......tired........"  
          
Darkness consumed Krys' vision.  She closed her eyes, and let oblivion sweep over her.


	5. Unexpected Anomaly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New things are happening this run, and Sans isn't sure about any of this.

Sans leaned against the wall next to the gates to the ruins, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his blue hooded jacket.  The black pair of gym shorts with white pin stripes down the sides revealed the lower half of his legs.  His fuzzy blue slippers crunched against the snow.  He wasn't exactly dressed for the weather, but that was ok.  
          
Skeletons don't get cold, after all.  
          
The short, stout skeleton fidgeted as he continued to wait, fighting back the urge to just close his eyes and take a nap.  He couldn't remember the last time he had slept the whole night through.  
          
_the kid should be out here any minute.  honestly, they should have been here already.  maybe they decided to take their time in the ruins.  what are they doing there?  is toriel ok?_  
          
Sans' permanent smile faded.  How many times had he done this now?  How many times had he been waiting outside these ruins for the kid to appear, never knowing if it was going to be Frisk or Chara who met him?  More often than not, lately, it had been Chara, but Sans held a faint hope that Frisk would appear again.  He was tired of fighting.  Tired of seeing his brother and everyone he knew turned to dust in front of him.  Tired of facing the demonic, twisted grin on Frisk's face as Chara forced them to kill again and again.  Tired of killing Frisk to stop Chara.  
          
Most of all he was tired of the damn resets.  
          
He had decided to kill the kid here and now, not letting them even reach Snowdin, if it was Chara's red eyes that faced him when that door opened.  Sans was not going to watch his beloved brother dissolve into dust again.  Sure the kid would just reset again, but maybe Chara would give up eventually if she kept meeting her end so early in the journey.  Sans was prepared to do this until the end of time, if necessary.  
          
But as long as Sans had waited today, the kid never came out of the ruins.  At any moment, Papyrus would be coming around to check on him, and it would be disastrous if Pap saw Sans and Chara fighting.  He wouldn't understand.  Papyrus never remembered what happened in the past timelines.  (No one but Sans, Chara, Frisk, and that damned Flowey did.)  His brother was so kind-hearted that he would probably try to defend the human right up until Chara stabbed Papyrus in the back, probably even as his body turned into dust.  Sans couldn't let Papyrus get hurt again.  
          
Silence fell upon the forest along with the light snowfall as Sans continued to wait.  With a sigh, he pulled his fluffy fur-lined hood back and stepped out in front of the stone doors to the ruins.  It never takes the kid this long to exit the ruins.  Just what was going on in there?  
          
He knocked on the doors in front of him, hearing the faint echo as the sound reverberated down the halls on the other side.  If nothing else, maybe Toriel would answer.  He'd like to share a few jokes with her, at least.  However, there was no reply.  Sans sighed, watching his warm breath leave a steam cloud in the cold air.  Maybe Toriel was out in the ruins somewhere.  Hopefully, that was the reason she didn't answer.  If she was dead, the kid would have already come through the door.  
          
...Right?  
          
"SAAAAAAANS!!!"  Papyrus's voice shattered the silence of the forest.  Damn, it must have been later than Sans thought.  "WHERE ARE YOU SANS?!"    
          
Turning around, Sans spotted the tall silhouette of his brother emerging from the trees.  As always, Papyrus was still wearing his "battle body", the white chest plate, blue bottoms with yellow waistband, oversized red gloves and boots, and his matching red scarf blowing in the wind like a cape.   The grin on Sans' face was actually genuine as his tall skeleton brother approached, but he couldn't help but send a worried glance back at the doors behind him.  
          
"AH, THERE YOU ARE, SANS!  WHAT ARE YOU DOING ALL THE WAY OUT HERE, BROTHER?" Papyrus asked, putting his fists on his hips.  "YOU'RE NOT ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR POST!"  
          
"heya, bro," Sans waved.  "i just thought that i could wait here for a human to come through."  He shrugged.  "after all, they have to come through that door, right?"  It wasn't technically a lie.  
          
Papyrus stared at Sans for a moment.  "YOU HAVE BEEN ACTING VERY STRANGELY TODAY, SANS."    
          
Sweat drops started to gather on Sans' forehead.  Could Pap tell he wasn't giving him the full story?  "wha-what do you mean, pap?"  
          
"WELL, YOU DIDN'T COMPLAIN THIS MORNING WHEN I WOKE YOU UP FOR SENTRY DUTY, AND WHEN I WENT TO GRILLBY'S TO CHASE YOU OUT, LIKE I DO EVERY MORNING, YOU WEREN'T THERE!  GRILLBY TOLD ME YOU HAD JUST TAKEN YOUR BREAKFAST TO GO AND LEFT."  
          
Sans gave a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his neck.   
          
"AND FINALLY, WHEN I CAME TO CHECK ON YOU, YOU WEREN'T AT YOUR POST.  BUT YOU AREN'T ACTUALLY LAZING ABOUT TAKING A NAP SOMEWHERE!  YOU'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR A HUMAN...COULD IT BE...."  
          
The tall skeleton's eyes narrowed in suspicion, and he took a few more slow steps forward until he was right in front of Sans and continued to stare, examining the stout skeleton closely.  
    
"uh, papyrus?"  Sans took a step back.  "you ok, bro?"  
          
Papyrus suddenly reached down and swept Sans up into a hug, lifting the shorter skeleton off the ground.  "I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!"  Sans couldn't see Pap's face, but he could imagine the tears of joy welling up in his brother's eyes.  "YOU ARE FINALLY TAKING YOUR JOB SERIOUSLY!  FINALLY I'M STARTING TO BE A GOOD INFLUENCE ON YOU."  
          
A light blue blush dusted Sans' cheeks as he patted Papyrus on the back.  "throw me a bone, eh paps?  i can be serious when i want to be."  
          
"SANS, I WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR TERRIBLE PUNS TO RUIN THIS BEAUTIFUL MOMENT."  
          
Sans just chuckled and hugged his brother back, but the peace of the forest was shattered with sudden frantic knocking from the ruin doors.  Papyrus dropped his brother in surprise, Sans landing with an "oomph!" in the snow.  Sans was about to zing his brother with another pun in retaliation, but the knocking at the door picked up again.  
          
"Sans!  Sans, are you there?," cried a female voice, quietly followed by, "Oh, please be out there...."  
          
"Sans, what is this about?" Papyrus asked, strangely quiet.  
          
Shrugging in response, Sans got to his feet and knocked on his side of the doors.  "i'm here, toriel.  i'm here.  what's going on?  are you ok?"    
          
"Ohthankgod, yes!  Yes, I am fine!" Toriel replied.  "But I need help!  Two...two humans fell down here."  
          
Sans' brow bones shot up in surprise.  Two humans?  Through all the resets, Frisk was the only one who ever fell into the Underground.  Now there were two humans?  
          
"One of them is a child, and they seem to be unharmed."    
          
Sans sighed with relief.  That would have to be Frisk.  If Toriel was still alive, that meant Chara wasn't in control.  
          
Toriel's worried voice continued.  "The second human is an adult, and she is unconscious.  She is not wounded, as far as I can tell, but I cannot get her to wake up!"  
          
An adult?  That was definitely new.  
          
"something may be going on with her soul, then," Sans replied.    
          
"PERHAPS THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE?"  Sans jumped a bit at Papyrus's sudden appearance at his side.  He had almost forgotten his brother was there.  "I AM SKILLED IN HEALING SOULS!"    
          
Toriel grew quiet on the other side of the door.  "Who is that, Sans?"  
          
"oh!  this is my brother, papyrus!  i've told you about him before," Sans replied.  "if you let us come in, we could help.  what do you say, tori?"  
          
There was a tense pause, then the doors to the ruins slowly creaked open.  A tall fluffy goat woman monster was revealed.  She was wearing a long purple dress with the royal delta rune embroidered on the front of it.    
          
"KING ASGORE?  HOW DID YOU TURN INTO A LADY MONSTER?" Papyrus asked, bewildered.  
         
Toriel gave a small laugh before replying, "I am Lady Toriel, caretaker of the ruins.  You must be Papyrus, which means," she turned to look at the smaller skeleton, "you must be Sans."  
          
Sans gave a wink.  "got it in one."  
          
Toriel nodded before her expression turned serious.  "Now, we have not a moment to lose.  Quickly, follow me, please."    
          
With that, Toriel turned and marched back up the path, deeper into the ruins, with the two skeletons following close behind.


	6. Flickering Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Papyrus lay their eyelights on Krys for the first time.

Toriel led the skeleton brothers up a set of stairs to a hallway that branched left and right.  The right side seemed to lead to a cozy living room with a dining table and a comfortable chair in front of a fireplace while the left side revealed a hallway with three doors.  Heading left from the stairs, Toriel opened the first door on the left and revealed a child's bedroom.  It was simply furnished with a lamp, small bookcase, a combination wardrobe/dresser, and a small bed with a toy box at the foot of it.    
          
Sans spotted the unfamiliar woman lying on the bed.  It was almost too small for her.  The slow rise and fall of her chest showed she was breathing, but other than that, the woman didn't move.  Frisk was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding the woman's hand.  Frisk didn't even look up when the door opened.  The kid must have been worried about this woman, whoever she was.  
          
"Frisk, my child."  Frisk looked up at the sound of Toriel's voice.  "I have brought a couple of friends who might be able to help."  Toriel stepped aside from the door, letting the skeleton brothers enter the room.  "This is Sans and his brother Papyrus."  
         
Papyrus was the first to greet Frisk.  "HELLO, SMALL HUMAN!"  
          
"heya," Sans said with a small wave.  
          
Frisk smiled, almost with relief, upon seeing Papyrus, but they couldn't bring herself to meet Sans' gaze.    
         
_can't say i blame you, kid.  the last few timelines didn't end so well, did they?_  
         
Sans plastered a lazy smile on his face.  "alright, kiddo.  let's take a look at her."  
          
Frisk left the bed and moved to stand by Toriel, letting Papyrus and Sans stand by the unconscious woman.  Toriel put her paws on Frisk's shoulders and held them close.    
          
Sans examined this mystery woman.  Her skin was tanned as if she spent a lot of time outdoors in the sun, but her face seemed quite pale.  She had also apparently been in quite a few battles.  Several faint scars ran along and across her arms, another on her right cheek, and yet another across the left side of her neck.   No doubt there were more scars hidden by her clothing.    
          
_undyne would probably be impressed._  
          
Her hands were calloused and rough.  A glance to the floor beside the bed revealed some of this woman's belongings.  A cloak, neatly folded by Toriel, a tattered shoulder bag, and, most alarming, a weapon belt with a sheathed sword and dagger hanging from it.  This woman was obviously a fighter.    
         
_it's been a while since humans carried swords, though.  why does this woman have one?_  
          
"SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LARGE HUMAN?" Papyrus asked, breaking Sans out of his thoughts.  
          
Toriel gave Frisk an encouraging gentle squeeze.  "Tell them what you told me, my child."  
         
With a nod, Frisk quietly began to explain.  "When I fell into the underground, I woke up, and I was by myself.  I met a talking flower, and he seemed nice at first.  But then he attacked me."  
          
Papyrus gasped, and a troubled expression flit across his face.  Sans suddenly remembered that his brother had told him about a talking flower that would encourage him and tell him things.  He had thought that someone was using an echo flower to prank Papyrus, but then he found out about Flowey.  Hopefully it wasn't Flowey that had been talking to Papyrus.  Because if it was....that flower was going to have a very. bad. time.  
         
Sans turned his attention back to Frisk as they continued, "Krys appeared out of nowhere and saved me!  She scared the flower away.  Then...um...she collapsed soon after."  Frisk's eyes turned to the ground as they finished.    
         
_Frisk's not telling us the whole story...what about Chara?  i'll have to talk to them about it later, without Papyrus and Toriel._  
          
"SO THE BIG HUMAN IS NAMED KRYS?" Papyrus asked.  
          
Frisk nodded.  
         
"She was already unconscious when I found them," Toriel added.  "I carried Krys here and then went to find you two."  
          
Sans nodded in understanding and then turned to face the sleeping woman.  "sounds like we're going to have to look at her soul to see if we can get more answers."  He pulled his left hand from his jacket pocket.  A blue aura surrounded it, matching the soft blue glow from his left eye.  "are you ready, Pap?"  
          
Papyrus' eyes and hands started to glow a brilliant orange as he gathered his own magic.  "READY BROTHER."  
          
Toriel took this moment to gently lead Frisk out of the room.  "They will need to concentrate, my child," she said, answering Frisk's questioning glance.  "Krys will be fine."  She led Frisk past the living room and into the kitchen.  "While we wait, do you want to help me make a pie?  Do you prefer butterscotch or cinnamon?"  
          
Back in the bedroom, Sans' magic gathered around Krys and gently coaxed her soul to separate from her body.  His eye sockets widened in surprise when it appeared above her chest.  It was unlike any human or monster soul he had seen.  
         
Almost all human and monster souls appear as a glowing heart, with various colors depending on human's dominant personality trait, or white with a magical aura depending on the color of the monster's magic.  Frisk's soul, for example, was red for Determination, while Sans' soul was white with a deep blue aura.  This woman's soul, however, was clear, as if it was made of glass, or perhaps crystal.  In the center, a small weak silver ember flickered like a candle in a breeze.  Hairline cracks spider-webbed across the surface of the soul from some sort of trauma in the past.  Perhaps multiple ones.  Most of the cracks weren't very deep, but the deepest ones appeared to be quite old and scarred over as the soul had tried to repair itself.  It was troubling to see.  
          
Papyrus immediately set to work, kneeling beside of the bed and bathing this unusual soul in his healing magic while Sans kept the soul steady for him.  The soul seemed resistant at first, but slowly some of the cracks began to heal.  Interestingly, the silver flame inside the soul started to burn a little brighter and more steadily as the cracks were sealed.  What was the significance of that fire?  
         
Sans watched his brother work for a while, probably 20 or 30 minutes, before tapping him on the shoulder.  "hey, bro?  you're going to burn yourself out if you keep going like that."  
         
Papyrus sighed.  "AS MUCH AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD LIKE TO ARGUE, IT SEEMS YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER."  Slowly he withdrew his magic, and the orange glow faded from his hands and eyes.  Wiping the sweat from his brow, Papyrus stood and said, "I ONLY WISH I COULD HAVE DONE MORE.  IT'S LIKE THIS SOUL DIDN'T WANT TO HEAL!"  
         
Carefully guiding the soul back into Kry's body, Sans replied, "you did a great job, bro."  He let his own magic fade, and the white pinpricks returned to his eyes.  "she probably just needs to sleep for a while now.  if she doesn't wake up in a few days, then we can come back and try again."  
         
"EXCELLENT IDEA, BROTHER!  LET'S GO TELL LADY ASGORE AND THE SMALL HUMAN OF OUR PROGRESS!"  With that, Papyrus bolted out of the room and down the hall.  
         
Sans chuckled.  He loved his brother's enthusiasm.  His gaze returned to the sleeping woman.  She didn't seem as pale as she did before, and he was pretty certain he just saw her hand twitch.    
         
"who are you, krys?" he softly asked.  
         
Making sure everyone else was still down the hall, he took a quick look in Krys' bag, hoping to find something enlightening there.  He pulled out a journal, leather bound with five small crystals embedded into the face of the cover.  Four of them were arranged in a diamond shape with the fifth one in the center.  Jackpot.  Quickly stuffing the journal into his pocket, Sans left the room and quietly closed the door.  He'll take a look at this later when no one else is around.  
         
"Sans?" Toriel called from the living room.  "Frisk and I just made some butterscotch-cinnamon pie.  You and Papyrus will stay to have some, will you not?"  
         
"butterscotch and cinnamon, eh?"  Sans winked lazily.  "don't mind if _pie_  do."  
         
"SAAAAANS!  THAT WAS TERRIBLE.  APOLOGIZE TO LADY ASGORE AND THE HUMAN."  
         
Papyrus was drowned out in Sans's chuckles, Toriel's giggles, and Frisk's laughter.  
         
Krys slept on.


	7. Faded Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krys is in some serious trouble, but a mysterious man appears to help.

Krys felt like she was floating.  She opened her eyes to find herself suspended in darkness.  
          
_Am I back in the Void between Worlds?_  
          
Her eyes darted all around her, but she did not find the mists or angry whispering that resided in the spaces between.  This particular blackness felt...similar, though.  Suddenly she remembered what she had been doing just before she blacked out.  
          
"Ugh, you're so stupid, Krys!" she berated herself.  "You should have just grabbed Frisk and run.  You were already weak from breaking out of the Void to come to this world, and you decided it was a good idea to set up a barrier around a kid's soul and then banish the manifestation of an evil ghost demon child.  Good job.  Now you're probably going to die."  
         
Krys hugged herself and sighed.  She closed her eyes and tried to reach for her power, to get a sense of what was happening.  Then she saw it.  Her spark.  Her soulflame.  It was flickering weakly, as if it could go out at any moment.  
          
"Damn it."  
         
She released the pitiful vision of her soulflame.  No point in worrying about it now.  There wasn't anything she could do about it, and it's doubtful that there was anyone around to rekindle her.  
         
Krys stared out into the infinite blackness and found herself remembering the last time she found herself in this situation.    
  
She had been quite young then, probably around Frisk's age, showing off her newly developed powers to her brother, Grayson.  She was tired, and she knew she should stop and rest, but just seeing her brother's eyes light up as he watched the pretty lights dance around him made her so happy.  She remembered falling, much like she had in front of Frisk, and Grayson running to get Dad.  Krys smiled a little, envisioning the scene.  
          
_When I woke up again I was lying on my bed, and I felt Dad's magic all around me.  His fire was blue.  It was warm.  Comforting.  I remember looking up at his worried face.  He hugged me tight._  
          
_"What happened, Daddy?" I asked once he had let go of me._  
         
_He sighed and withdrew the magical fire around me.  "You overused your powers, Krys.  You nearly burnt out your soulflame.  I had to rekindle your spirit."_  
          
_"Oh..."  I thought for a few moments.  "So...I almost died, huh?"_  
         
_Dad flinched.  I was scared.  I didn't know it was possible to force our soulflame to go out.  Our spirits, our lives, and our powers come from the spark of our inner fire.  I guess I always thought that the soulflame was sort of eternal._  
          
_Dad held my hand tight.  "Yes, but..." he gently turned my face so that I was looking at him, "You alive now.  You're safe."_  
          
_We hugged again.  I clung to him and cried into his shirt.  Looking back, I think he was probably crying too.  Then my little brother came running in and hugged us both.  He was probably hiding just outside of my room watching the whole thing.  He must have been so scared.  We all just stayed there, on my bed, clinging to each other, as if one of us would disappear if we were to let go._  
          
_"Just promise me something, Krys," Dad whispered.  "Promise you'll be more careful."_  
          
Krys sighed as the memory faded.  "Sorry, Dad.  I guess I'll be joining you and little bro sooner than I thought."  She looked around at the endless darkness.  "Though, I don't remember this kind of place the last time this happened."  
         
Then a quiet, strange voice reached her ears. "XxxxxXXXXxxxxXX" It sounded almost musical with hints of static around the edges.  
  
A small squeak of surprise escaped her lips.  "Who's there?!"  Krys twisted and twirled in the dark, trying to find the source of this mysterious voice.   
  
"XXxxxxxx"  
   
Then Krys saw....him?  A mysterious figure faded into existence in front of her.  He was tall.  Very tall.  And thin.  Pale white face and hands.  Hands with holes in the palms.  His right eye drooped, and cracks ran from the top of his right eye and from the bottom of his left eye.  Was he a sort of skeleton?  And he was wearing a white turtleneck sweater and something like a long black coat that pooled onto the floor at his feet.  
  
This new figure held up his hands in a gesture of peace.  "XXxxxxxXXXXXXXxxxxxX"  His fingers seemed to move along with his speech.  
          
"Um...."  Krys stared at this mysterious man's hands and then back his face.  "Was that...sign language?"  
          
The figure nodded his head.    
          
"I-I'm afraid I can't read it..." Krys muttered.  
          
The figure's smile drooped a little in disappointment.  He seemed to sigh and then gestured for Krys to follow him.  Then he turned and started walking.  Krys, not knowing what else to do, followed after him.  She had no idea how long she followed this figure, but she nearly ran into him when he stopped and turned to face her again.  He gestured to the side, and Krys saw two lights hovering beside him.  One was orange.  The other was blue.  The pale face looked at her expectantly.  
          
She looked at him in confusion.  "What am I supposed to do?"  
          
He smiled gently and reached one hand out as if to touch Krys' breastbone, but stopped just before he reached her skin.  Tendrils of purple magic spread from his fingers to her, and Krys felt a gentle tugging at her core.  Then a crystal clear heart with a small flame inside materialized above the man's outstretched hand.  Krys' eyes widened in shock.  She recognized the fire instantly.  That was hers.  The man was studying the heart and flame with interest.  
         
"Wait!  What is that?" she asked.  The man pointed at her.  "No, I know what that flame is.  What's this heart thing?"  The man pointed at her again.    
          
This was most frustrating.    
          
She was about to snap at the pale man until she remembered Chara's taunting words when a similar heart appeared in front of Frisk.  "Is that...my soul?"  The man nodded.  "Oh."  Krys was a little surprised. Her soulflame had never been encased in a heart like this before. Perhaps her body adapted to this new universe she was in. She suddenly felt very vulnerable.  "What are you doing with that?"  
         
The man didn't reply.  He simply guided Krys' soul to the orange and blue lights beside him.  The lights brightened and circled the soul, flying faster and faster.  Krys felt a rush of warmth in her core.  It reminded her a lot of the feeling of her father's magic fire holding her.  Watching the lights, she also realized her spirit flame was responding to them, growing stronger.  The blue and orange lights faded.  Then the mystery man guided the soul back to Krys and let it phase back into her body.  He gently placed his hand on her shoulder.  The friendly gesture reminded Krys of the way her dad, in a way.  Was this man a father?   
         
"XXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx"  
   
There was a flash of purple light, and darkness enveloped Krys once more.  The man was gone.  She felt like she was falling, slowly, until she landed on something soft and warm.  Sleep overcame her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of you already know who this Mystery Man is, but play along with me, yeah? ;)
> 
> Mystery Man translations:
> 
> "Likely not, young lady."
> 
> "A friend."
> 
> "Can you understand me?"
> 
> "Until we meet again."


	8. Rest and Recharge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goat Mom! Everyone loves Goat Mom!

Slowly Kry's eyes opened and groggily surveyed her surroundings.  She was lying on a bed with a warm blanket pulled over her.  It was so comfortable there that Krys briefly entertained the idea of going back to sleep.  Her boots, bag, weapons and cloak were placed on the floor next to her.  Someone had even taken her hair out of the braid and brushed it out.  Looking around at the furnishings, she realized that she was in a child's bedroom, though the fine layer of dust on various objects suggested that perhaps the room had been unoccupied for quite some time.    
          
 _Where am I?_  
          
She stared at the ceiling, trying to remember what happened to her.  She remembered meeting Frisk and the brief encounter with Chara.  She remembered falling...but there was something that happened after...Something important.  There were colored lights...white hands of bone with holes in the palms...  
          
The more Krys tried to remember, the fainter the memories became.  The only impression she was left with were the hands forming shapes, signing something to her, and a floating crystalline heart with her spirit flame encased within it.    
          
With a small groan, Krys tried to put the troubling visions out of her mind.  Thinking about all of this was starting to give her a headache, and it seemed best to focus on the here and now.  Slowly she sat up and placed her feet on the ground, her joints and bones creaking from staying in one place for so long.  How long had she been asleep, anyway?  
          
Feeling slightly adventurous, she reached for her power, just to test the waters.  Her reward was a massive splitting headache coupled with intense vertigo.  She collapsed back onto the bed.  
          
_Well, that was a dumb decision,_ she chided herself.   _It's probably going to be a long while before I can use any of my powers.  Hopefully, Chara doesn't make a reappearance until then..._  Krys frowned.   _I hope Frisk is ok._  
           
Several minutes passed before Krys felt strong enough to sit up and try to stand.  She wobbled slightly when she put her weight on her feet, but soon enough she was standing without needing to lean on anything.  What she really needed was some food.  
          
She glanced down at her weapons before deciding to leave them.  She didn't feel strong enough to fight now, anyway.  Besides, she seemed to have been treated well so far.  Perhaps there wasn't any danger.  
          
Slowly she shuffled out the door (Unlocked doors are a good sign.) and down the hallway.  She passed a set of stairs and a door that appeared to lead outside and found a rather cozy, friendly-looking living room.  Krys admired the fireplace and overstuffed chair placed in front of it.  Then she heard the pans quietly clanking against one another through yet another door.  That must be a kitchen.  Was someone there?  
          
"Hello?" she called.    
          
The clanking stopped.  With a delighted gasp, an extremely tall, white fluffy monster woman with small goat-like horns and long floppy ears burst through the kitchen door.  "My child!  You are awake!"  She immediately swept Krys up in a fluffy hug.  "We were so worried you were not going to wake up!"  
          
Krys froze.  This was not what she expected.    
          
The monster, sensing Krys stiffen, quickly stepped back and patted down her dress.  The goat woman took a deep breath and smiled.  "I'm so sorry.  You must be so confused."  Placing a paw on her chest, she began again, "My name is Toriel.  I am the caretaker of these ruins."  
          
Gradually Krys began to relax.  "Um.  It's nice to meet you, Toriel.  My name is Krys."  She held out her hand, and Toriel accepted the gentle handshake. Her paw was massive compared to Krys' hand.  "There was a child with me earlier.  Their name is Frisk.  Do you know where they are?"  
          
"Yes, I do.  They have been staying with a friend while we waited for you to recover," Toriel answered.  
          
With a sigh of relief, Krys sank down onto one of the dining table chairs.  Frisk was safe.  
          
Toriel's smile seemed to widen.  Then she whisked off to the kitchen and reappeared with two plates bearing fruits and sandwiches.  She placed one of the plates in front of Krys and joined her at the table.  
          
Seeing Krys about to speak again, she raised her pointer finger to silence her.  "Now, I know you must have many questions, my child, but you have been unconscious for nearly two days."    
          
Two days?!  
          
"Eat first.  Then I will answer as many questions as I can."  
          
Krys almost burst out laughing.  It had been a long time since someone mothered her like this.  Settling on a wide grin, the woman replied, "Yes, ma'am."  
          
Toriel was right.  Krys was hungry.  The lunch was satisfying and filling, and true to her word, Toriel patiently answered Krys' many questions over cups of golden flower tea.  Krys learned that she and Frisk were in the Underground, where monsters lived.  Long ago humans had sealed the monsters away here, fearing the monsters' ability to absorb human souls after the human has died.  No monster had actually done this at the time, as far as Toriel knew, but this didn't stop an all-out war between the two races.  Sealing the monsters underground had ended the conflict without the humans wiping out the monsters entirely.    
          
"So, how exactly did they seal you all in the Underground?  Surely it'd be possible to dig out?" Krys asked.  
          
Toriel sadly shook her head.  "The humans used a magical barrier.  Anything can cross into the barrier.  That is how you and Frisk were able to arrive here.  But only a being that possesses both a human and a monster soul can actually leave."  
          
"Hmm..." Krys tapped her fingers on the table.  "I can see why this would be a problem.  Is there a way to break the barrier, perhaps?"   
          
The goat woman's eyes studied the mug of tea in her paws.  "There is," she finally responded.  "But it requires someone wielding seven human souls to do it."  She took a long sip of her tea.  "The king currently has six."  Was that a hint of bitterness in her voice?  
          
Krys' eyes focused sharply on the woman across from her.  "Doesn't that put Frisk in danger?"  
          
Toriel nodded.  "It puts both of you in danger, my child.  That is why I have Sans watching Frisk right now."  
          
Krys blinked and then realized that to Toriel, Krys appears to be a human.  Fair enough.  Wouldn't hurt to play along for a while.  
          
Suddenly a loud ringing filled the air.  What on earth was that?  Toriel reached into a pocket of her dress and pulled out some sort of device.  The noise was coming from that small box-like object.    
          
"Ah!  This is him calling now."  She unfolded it and put it to her ear and started talking to it.  
          
Is that...a cell phone?  Wow, it's been a while since I've been in a world with those.  At least that gives me an idea of what level of technology this place has.  
          
Krys sipped on her tea and pondered over all the things Toriel had told her, tuning out the one-sided conversation happening beside her.  She had dealt with monsters before in various universes, usually at the end of her blades, but these monsters sounded totally different.  They were sentient, for one.  Kind, for another.  Much like how she wished humans and other creatures would be.  They just wanted to live on the surface again and see stars, the sun, and all the other things out there.  They wanted to be free.  If all, or even just most of the monsters here were like Toriel, that didn't seem like such a bad thing.    
          
As for the monsters like that flower that attacked Frisk earlier...They would have to be dealt with differently.  
          
Still, it wasn't right to imprison a whole race just because of what they "might" do, or even what a few of them do.  Krys tapped the side of her mug.   _Maybe there's a way I can help them, once I'm strong enough.  In the meantime..._   She upended the mug and finished off the last mouthful of tea.   _I'll protect Frisk as best as I can.  And find a way to deal with Chara if she returns._  A small shiver ran down her spine as remembered the ghost's laughter and parting words.   _When she returns._  
          
The cell phone shut with a snap, drawing Krys back out of her thoughts.  "I have told Sans that you are awake," Toriel began.  "He and Frisk are on their way here now.  Frisk sounded very excited to see you again."  
          
Krys' smile matched Toriel's now.  "I look forward to it."  
          
Toriel quickly checked her phone for the time.  "Snowdin is far enough away that you should have time for a shower, if you want one, and there should be spare clothes in the wardrobe.  Some of them will fit you, I think."  
          
"A shower sounds amazing right now."  Krys stood and gave Toriel a quick side-hug.  "Thank you."  Krys normally didn't give hugs out freely unless she knew the other person well, but things were different with Toriel.  She felt safe near this kind motherly monster.  
          
"You-You are welcome, my child."  Spotting Toriel's grin, Krys smiled and turned to shuffle back to the bedroom.  "The bathroom is through the door at the end of the hall!"  Toriel called.  
          
Krys just smiled and waved behind her to let Toriel know she heard.  Her smile faded when she saw the bedroom door, though.  It was open when she left, but now it was closed.  She quietly turned the handle and swung it open.  In the dim light she saw a blur of motion by the bed, and then it was gone.  Did she imagine it?  
          
She carefully stepped into the room and switched the lamp light on.  Nothing seemed out of place, but Krys couldn't help but feel that someone had been here.  She spotted her journal, lying on top of her bag.  Sliding the book back into her bag, Krys took one more look around.  With a sigh, she decided to let the matter go and started picking through the wardrobe for clothes her size.  After sorting through several child-sized clothes, Krys ended up selecting a black t-shirt with a picture of a cat on it and a pair of blue jeans.  Maybe she didn't actually see anything in here.  She was probably just jumpy.  Yeah.  She'd feel better after a shower.  
          
Then she'd see Frisk again.  And meet this "Sans", whoever he is.


	9. Rattling Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krys gets to meet Sans for the first time. Seems like an interesting fellow.

Sans sighed with relief back in his room.  Krys had almost caught him returning the journal.  Thank goodness for shortcuts.  
         
There was a polite knocking at the door.  Must be Frisk.  Papyrus almost sounds like he'd break the door every time he knocked.  "Are you ready to go, Sans?"  
         
"yup."  Sans opened the door.  "got your stuff, kiddo?"  
          
Frisk beamed a smile and held up their backpack.  "Got it!"    
         
The kid practically skipped back down the hall and down the stairs.  Sans just shuffled behind.    
          
"papyrus not coming?" he asked.  
         
Frisk shook their head.  "No.  He seemed really excited when I told him Krys was awake, though.  He ran out the door shouting something about his puzzles?"  
          
Sans chuckled.  "probably wants to re-calibrate them so krys can go through them."  He slipped his blue hoodie on and opened the door outside.  "let's walk, frisk.  gives us time to have a chat."  
          
"Ok!"  Frisk skipped out the door, sending snow flying in their wake.  
          
The skeleton and the child walked side by side through the snow, leaving the town of Snowdin behind.  Frisk was humming something to themselves.  Sans was lost in thought.  He had meant to talk with Frisk before now, but Papyrus had always been nearby.  Papyrus didn't know anything about the resets, and he wasn't about to place that heavy burden on his little brother.  
          
"so," he began.  "it seems you're...more like yourself this time."  
          
Frisk's smile seemed to fade a little.  "Yeah."  The bounce was gone from their step now.  "I'm so sorry, Sans."  
          
Sans just held up his hand.  "don't be, kid.  i know it wasn't you."  He stuffed his hand back into his pockets and continued.  "i just want to know what's different this time.  you said krys collapsed soon after scaring off flowey, right?  what happened before, though?"  The child bit their lip, not sure if they wanted to tell Sans.  "kid, i'm going to find out sooner or later.  i'd much rather hear it from you now."  
         
"W-well..." Frisk stuttered before taking a deep breath.  "Chara appeared.  She was going to take my soul again."  
          
Sans nodded. He expected that.  "so what happened?"  
          
Frisk's hand grabbed their sweater, clutching the spot over where their heart would be.  "Krys did something with my soul.  She stopped Chara."  Frisk's voice started to pick up speed now.  "Then Chara tried to stab her, but there was all this fire around Krys, and then the fire surrounded Chara.  There was a scream, and Chara was gone!  The fire went away, and I tried to hug her, but then Krys fell over!  I didn't know what to do, but then Toriel came and...."  Frisk glanced over at the skeleton.  "You know the rest."  
         
"hmm..." Sans stopped in his tracks.  Frisk took a couple more steps before realizing Sans was not following.  They turned to face the skeleton.  "let me see your soul, frisk."  
         
"Ok..."  Frisk concentrated and the bright red soul appeared in front of them.  Frisk's soul appeared fine, undamaged, but now it was surrounded by silver fire, the same color as the embers in Krys' soul.  The flames burned pleasantly, like a cheery campfire.  
         
Sans examined the soul with concern. First Krys' very weird soul, now this weird fire. What was going on?  "does it hurt?"  
          
"Nope!" Frisk replied with an emphatic shake of their head.  "I think it's been helping.  I don't even have as many nightmares like I did before."  
         
The soul faded back into Frisk's body.  Sans studied the kid closely, his eyelights shifting ever so slightly.  They really did seem to be alright.  The two of them took off walking again.  The crunch of their feet against the snow was the only sound between them.  
          
Eventually, they reached the stone doors to the ruins.  Frisk was about to knock before Sans spoke again.  
         
"one last question before we go in."  Frisk lowered their hand and glanced at Sans, puzzled.  "did krys say anything about where she came from?"  
          
Frisk's hand went to their chin as she thought.  After a moment they shook their head.  "Krys only said that she came a long way."  
          
Sans chuckled quietly.  Judging from the contents of her journal, that was quite an understatement.  Sans raised his left hand and before he even knocked twice, the doors swung open, and Toriel was there to greet them both with a warm hug.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The shower took a little longer than Krys had anticipated.  She couldn't help herself.  The last few universes she had visited didn't have such luxuries as hot water unless you decided to heat the water yourself with fire or magic, and even then you could only take baths, so she was enjoying every minute of her time under the running water.  Aches in her muscles slowly ebbed away, and Krys found herself the most relaxed she had been in at least a year or two.  For once she had not jumped straight into a world-shattering conflict.  Sure there was still a murder-ghost and these kind monsters were trapped underground, but demons weren't pouring out of the earth's crust, dragons weren't terrorizing the land, and there wasn't a massive world-wide war involving weapons of mass destruction and earth shattering magical powers.  All in all, this was a nice change.    
         
She finally shut off the water and toweled herself dry.  Krys could hear faint voices drift in from the door.  Frisk and Sans had probably arrived.  She threw on the clothes she borrowed from the wardrobe and started to put her still-damp hair back into her traditional french braid.  A smile crossed her face when she spotted her reflection in the mirror.  The shirt and jeans were tighter than the clothes she had arrived in, and the clothes ended up showing off the curves of her body.  Wisps of her dark hair, too short to stay back in the braid, framed her face, and her deep blue eyes almost seemed to shine back at her.  All in all, she liked what she saw.  Fighting and traversing wide landscapes was a tough life, but it sure helped her build up a muscular and trim figure.    
         
"Well, time to see Frisk again," Krys announced to her reflection once the braid was complete.  "Got to check to see they're ok with my own eyes."  
         
She tossed her clothes and the damp towel into the hamper and opened the door, eager to see the young child again.    
          
Sans and Frisk were sitting at the dining room table while Toriel presented them with another freshly-baked pie.  This one was supposed to be raspberry.  Sans was sitting in the chair facing away from the bedroom hallway, so Frisk was the first one to actually spot Krys when she made her appearance.    
          
"Krys!"  Frisk immediately jumped out of their chair and barreled down the hallway, tackling Krys with a hug.  The woman was nearly knocked off her feet from the force of Frisk's embrace.  "I was so scared when you didn't wake up, so when Sans said you were awake I said we just had to come see you!  I'm so glad you're ok!"  
          
Sans turned in his seat to watch as Krys laughed and picked Frisk up to return their hug.  "Didn't mean to scare you, sweetheart," she said, setting Frisk on her hip.  Krys' concerned eyes quickly examined Frisk.  "Have you been doing ok?  Any problems while I've been out?"  
         
Frisk just grinned.  "I've been doing great!  Sans and Papyrus have been letting me stay with them, since Toriel doesn't have two extra beds.  We've been doing puzzles, cooking spaghetti, and watching movies!"  
         
"Any problems with...Chara?" Krys quietly asked so that only Frisk could hear.  
         
Frisk shook their head in response and then threw their arms around Krys' neck.  "Thank you so much, Krys."  
          
Krys just held Frisk close and carried them down the hallway to the kitchen.  "I'm just glad I was able to help you, Fri-"  
          
She spotted the skeleton.  
          
A lazy smile stretched across Sans' face, and with an equally lazy wave, he greeted Krys, "heya." His mouth didn't move as he spoke. Magic?  
          
Carefully placing Frisk back on the ground, Krys never took her eyes off of Sans.  Her hands were trembling slightly. Visions of a time long ago were flickering through her head. Bones and dust. Deafening silence. All alone. Just bones...  
                  
Toriel noticed Krys' odd behavior and tried to introduce the stout skeleton.  "My child, this is my friend, Sans."  Krys didn't respond.  "This is the friend who has been taking care of Frisk."  Still no response.  "Are you alright, my child?"  
          
Frisk tugged on Krys' hand.  "Krys?  Is something wrong?"  
          
Sans recognized that look on her face.  He saw it himself when he looked in the mirror sometimes, after he woke from a nightmare.  
          
"I-" Krys shook her head, trying to dispel the visions from her mind.  "Yes...I'm fine."  She gave a sort of shaky smile and offered her hand to Sans.  "I apologize.  I was not expecting you to be a skeleton.  My name is Krys."  
         
Sans accepted the handshake.  "nice to meetcha."  What was all that about?    
         
The skeleton's hand was surprisingly warm and smooth, with a slight bit of give to them, like a particularly hard gel, not at all like Krys expected his bones to feel.  This creature was alive.  This was good.  Krys found this realization comforting.  
          
Frisk eagerly pulled Krys to a chair next to Sans and sat down on Krys' other side.  "Mom made a pie for us while you were in the shower!" they exclaimed.    
          
"Mom?" Krys asked.  She spotted Toriel blushing.  
          
"I...I told Frisk she could call me 'Mom' if she wished," Toriel explained.  "You can as well, if you want to.  I want to make the two of you comfortable in your new home."  Toriel began cutting the pie into slices and served the pieces to each of her guests.  Krys' mouth twitched in a sort of half-smile. She hasn't had a mother in nearly 300 years. It was kind of Toriel to offer, but Krys wouldn't be calling her "Mom" any time soon.  
          
"so, krys," Sans piped up as Toriel sat at the last chair.  "you said you didn't expect me to be a skeleton, right?"  Krys nodded.  "well, did my appearance..." he closed one of his sockets in a slow wink, "rattle your bones?"  
          
Frisk snorted.  Toriel giggled demurely.  Krys just blinked.  "Wat."  
          
"well, it's ok if it did," Sans continued.  "i don't take offense.  it's rather hard to get under my skin."    
          
Frisk and Toriel just burst into laughter while Sans' smile grew wider.  Krys felt the corner of her mouth twitch upward.    
          
"Oh.  Jokes."  Krys was not sure what to make of this, but Sans' name and behavior had stirred an old memory about computers.  She decided to try something.  "Would that make you...a comic, Sans?"  
         
Sans joined in Toriel's and Frisk's laughter.  He had a nice voice, Krys noted.  A lovely baritone.  "hehe, good one," he replied as his laughter died down into chuckles.  "i guess you can just see right through me."  
         
The living room was filled with laughs and giggles as Toriel, Frisk and Sans continued the chain of puns and jokes in between bites of pie.  Krys just sat and listened for the most part.  She knew Sans was joking earlier, but his appearance had indeed "rattled" her.  She had never had good experiences with skeletons.  There were the ones that were animated by magic or other means and tried to attack, sure, but the worst experiences she had involved ones that didn't move.  Seeing Sans unexpectedly had triggered some of the more...troubling memories of her past.  
          
She took another bite of the raspberry pie (it was, of course, delicious), and glanced over at this living skeleton.  His smile always seemed to be present on his face, but his eyes (eye sockets?) were surprisingly expressive.  He could even move his brow bones.  Krys was not going to question the logic of all this.  It was probably magic.  It helped her a lot, though.  Sans was a skeleton, but he was alive, and that helped distance her from the nightmares.  
         
Her eyes turned back to the pie, or rather what remained of it.  She took the last bite of it, enjoying the tasty fruitiness of it.  
          
This was a very strange world she had come to.  
         
A sudden yawn from Frisk interrupted her thoughts.  Krys placed a hand on Frisk's shoulder.  "Tired, sweetheart?"  
         
Frisk just nodded and rubbed their eyes.    
         
Sans' voice piped up again.  "we maaaaay have stayed up late watching a movie."  He shrugged and winked at Toriel.  
          
Toriel, however, was not having it.  "My child, we must get you to bed!"    
          
Krys could just see her switch into "overprotective mother mode" as Toriel swept Frisk into her arms and carried the child to the bedroom.  Krys followed them into the room, just in time to see Toriel tucking the blankets in around Frisk, who was already asleep.  The motherly monster seemed surprised to see Krys standing in the doorway.  
          
"Oh!  I'm so sorry, Krys.  I did not even think to ask if it would be alright."  
          
Krys waved her concerns away.  "It's no problem, Toriel."  She quietly stepped up beside the bed and gathered her belongings.  "I'll just sleep on the floor somewhere.  The bed's a little too small for me anyway."  She ruffled Frisk's hair and exited the room, Toriel following behind her.  
          
"you know..." Sans voice was right beside her, causing Krys to jump in surprise.  She turned to find Sans leaning against the wall beside the doorway.  "you could always sleep on our couch.  paps certainly wants to meet you, and he's gotten used to having a third person in the house."  
          
Toriel gasped and squeaked out, excitedly, "Yes!  That is a wonderful idea!  Let me grab some extra clothes for you, Krys!"  She was gone in a flash, disappearing first into Frisk's bedroom, and then dashing into her bedroom.  
         
"That's ok, Sans," Krys smiled.  "You don't have to go to any trouble for me."  
          
"oh it's no trouble," Sans replied.  "in fact," the eyelights disappeared from his sockets, _"i insist."_  
         
Krys' hand twitched, reflexively reaching for her sword.  Sans' empty eye sockets seemed to glare right through her, and the lazy cheerful aura he had was replaced with a dark and menacing one.  They stared at each other for a moment.  The eyelights and lazy smile reappeared instantly when Toriel emerged from her bedroom, carrying a bundle of clothes.  
          
"Here you are, my child," Toriel said as she passed the clothing to Krys.  "I am sorry that I do not have more to give to you."  
         
Krys tore her gaze away from the smiling skeleton and packed the clothing into her bag.  "You've done a lot for me, Toriel.  Thank you."  She smiled and gently hugged Toriel again.  "I'll see you in a bit, yeah?" _If Sans doesn't try to kill me first..._  
          
Toriel squeezed her gently.  "I would like that a lot."  
          
After exchanging goodbyes, Sans led Krys down the set of stairs and through a few long hallways to the stone doors.  Krys kept an eye on the skeleton monster.  The cold winter air that greeted the two on the other side of the door was quite a surprise, and a definite change from the autumnal weather in the ruins.  She was very thankful for her warm cloak.  Sans didn't seem like much of a talker, which was fine with Krys.  That empty look he gave her earlier was more than enough to unnerve her.  
          
He stopped just before a wooden bridge and turned to face her, effectively blocking the way forward. He stood in his easy slouch, hands stuffed into the pockets of his blue hoodie, but Krys could tell he was tense. His shoulders were too stiff, and his ever-present grin too tight.  "so, krys.  mind if we have a little chat?"


	10. The Chat and The Road to Snowdin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans passes on a warning, then Krys meets Papyrus!

"let's get to the point."    
          
Sans voice had a much more serious tone to it now.  His hands were shoved deep into his jacket pockets, and the cold breeze ruffled his basketball shorts.  For the first time, Krys noticed that Sans wore fuzzy pink slippers instead of shoes.  He must not get cold easily.  
          
Sans' smile had faded, and his eyes stared right through Krys.  "i don't trust you.  you've helped frisk, and i appreciate that a lot.  however..." his eyes flickered towards Krys' sword and dagger before glancing at her chest, where her heart would be. His hard gaze returned to Krys' face.  "i can tell just by looking at you that you've killed before.  probably a lot."  
          
Krys gazed calmly back at Sans.  She refused to show it, but he did intimidate her. He was right, though. She had killed many things in the past. Humans, demons, non-sentient monsters.  "I only kill when I have reason to, Sans."    
          
He shrugged. "maybe so."    
          
The two of them continued to stare at one another for a few moments as snow drifted around them.  Finally, Krys broke the silence.  
          
"If you don't trust me, Sans, then why did you invite me to you and your brother's place?" Krys asked.  "Wouldn't it have been better to have me stay with Toriel?"  
          
"nah," he answered.  "this way i can keep an eye socket on you."  
          
Krys' eyes narrowed.  "Does this mean I'm a prisoner?"  
          
Sans chuckled.  "i'm not going to stop you from going anywhere, kid.  too much effort."  His smile had returned, but it didn't reach his eyes.  "just know that if you harm anyone, and i do mean anyone, i'll know about it.  and one final thing...if you hurt my brother..." Sans closed his eyes for a moment, and when they opened his right eye was dark, while his left housed a piercing bright blue light, trailing fire.  "you'll have a v e r y b a d t i m e."  
          
Fear briefly flashed across Krys' face before she could stop it.  She couldn't help it.  This short, lazy, easy-going skeleton suddenly radiated a dangerous power. He was terrifying, and if he did attack her, she was at a huge disadvantage without her powers.  
          
"SAAAAAAAANS!!!"  
          
An unfamiliar voice drifted through the woods to them, breaking the tense atmosphere.  
          
"SAAAAANS?  IS THE BIG HUMAN UP YET???"  
          
Sans sighed and closed his eyes.  When they opened again, the blue light had faded and his normal white eyelights had returned.  "that's my brother up ahead," he gestured behind him.  "we should go meet him."  
          
Krys cleared her throat, regaining her composure.  "Sounds...sounds good."  
          
She trailed after Sans across the bridge and past an empty sentry station.  Sans stopped again and let Krys catch up to him.    
          
"so, my bro's been really excited to meet you.  he hadn't seen a human before you and frisk came here.  so...if you could do me a favor..." his voice trailed off while giving Krys a side glance.  "keep pretending to be human for him.  it'll really make his day."  
          
Krys looked sharply at Sans, who only returned her glance with a crooked smile and dark chuckle.  Just what does he know?  
          
"AH!  THERE YOU ARE, SANS!"  A very tall skeleton appeared on the pathway.  "AND YOU'VE BROUGHT THE BIG HUMAN WITH YOU!"    
          
Papyrus marched up to Sans and Krys and leaned down, one gloved hand on his chin, to get a good look at Krys.  Unlike Sans, who had a broad, stocky build and was the same height as Krys, Papyrus' lean frame towered over the woman.  If they weren't both skeletons, and Sans hadn't already told her, she would have never thought the two of them were brothers upon first meeting them.  
          
"HMM....IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AWAKE, BIG HUMAN!" Papyrus nodded approvingly.  "THE GREAT PAPYRUS WAS BEGINNING TO WORRY ABOUT YOU!"   
          
"I'm glad I'm awake too," Krys replied.  She offered her hand.  "I'm Krys."  
          
She was not ready for the extremely enthusiastic handshake.  "IT IS GOOD TO MEET YOU, KRYS!  AS YOU MAY KNOW, I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, THE COOL BROTHER OF SANS."  
          
"Glad to meet you too, Papyrus..." Krys' hand ached when he released it.  This skeleton was quite strong for someone with no muscles.  She glanced over at Sans.  He was watching her closely, but she could also see him smirking.  
          
Papyrus stood back to his full height and pointed dramatically at Krys, his cape-like scarf fluttering behind him.  "NOW THAT I SEE YOU ARE WELL, THE GREAT PAPYRUS MUST CAPTURE YOU!"   
          
The woman's smile faded into a slight frown.  "Capture me?  Why?"  
          
"BECAUSE!" Papyrus posed even more dramatically than before.  "ONCE I HAVE CAPTURED A HUMAN AND DELIVERED THEM TO UNDYNE, SHE WILL MAKE ME PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"  Papyrus' eyes seemed to water with joy at the thought.  "IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY DREAM, AND CAPTURING YOU WILL ALLOW ME TO ACHIEVE MY DREAM!"  He looked back down at Krys and leaned toward her, as if he was going to share a secret.  "I CANNOT CAPTURE THE LITTLE HUMAN, FRISK, YOU SEE, BECAUSE WE HAVE BECOME FRIENDS."  
          
The woman nodded her head understandingly, even though she wasn't quite sure what to think about this whole situation.  Papyrus was a very strange creature. "I see.  That would cause problems, yes."  
          
"I AM GLAD YOU UNDERSTAND.  BUT FIRST!" Papyrus was back to his heroic posing.  "TO PROVE THAT YOU ARE WORTHY OF CAPTURE, YOU MUST FIRST SOLVE THE MANY PUZZLES OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!  THEN YOU CAN FACE ME IN COMBAT.  SEE YOU SOON, HUMAN KRYS!"    
          
And with "NYEH-HEH-HEH-HEH" resounding through the air, Papyrus was gone, racing excitedly down the path.  
          
"welp."  Sans started walking down the same path as Papyrus.  "that went well."  He looked back at Krys.  "just remember what i told you.  also, if you're worried, don't be.  Papyrus is pretty harmless, even if he tries not to be.  i'll see you up ahead."  Krys blinked, and the skeleton was gone.  
          
Krys blinked again.   _Just what have I gotten myself into?_  
                                                                                 
~*~*~*~*~*~  
          
The walk was, at least, pleasant.  Krys wasn't sure how snow, light, or trees could be present underground, scientifically speaking, but obviously monsters lived and breathed magic.  It would make sense that their home would be so affected.  There were various dog monster sentries, but Krys hid in the shadows of the trees to avoid them.  Even if Sans hadn't given her that ominous warning, Krys didn't want to hurt these creatures.  Toriel had told her much about various monsters in the underground, and it didn't sound like these beings were unkind.  She didn't want to be tempted into a battle and feel her reflexes take over.  Much better to just avoid the encounters completely. Hopefully if she did meet these monsters later, it would be under happier circumstances.  
          
She did encounter several puzzles Papyrus had set up, often with Papyrus himself standing next to them.  Many puzzles involved stepping on tiles to turn X shapes into O shapes.  Krys smiled upon seeing these.  She always did enjoy the various puzzles she had come across, and this was the first time she had seen puzzles designed like this.  Papyrus always seemed delighted when Krys was successful and would rush off to the next puzzle to eagerly await her arrival there.  Sans would sometimes make a joke or two before wandering off after his brother.  He didn't seem as threatening as before, though Krys wasn't fooled this time. She was sure he was keeping a very close watch on her actions.  
          
The two skeleton brothers were really starting to grow on her.  Papyrus was like a big innocent child.  She admired his energetic and happy spirit, and she could understand why Sans would want to protect him so much.  Papyrus' innocence could get him hurt if he met the wrong people.  Somehow, though, she suspected he was a lot smarter and observant than many would expect.  
          
As for Sans, he was still unnerving, but Krys could tell he really cared for his brother.  He had also kept an eye on Frisk when she and Toriel couldn't, so that was something.  He didn't seem like such a bad guy.  Just...slow to trust.  
          
After a long day of walking and puzzle solving Krys reached the final challenge.  She stood at one end of a long wooden bridge while the two skeleton brothers stood at the other.  Krys hoped that this would be the last puzzle.  She was growing tired, even though all she had done was walk.  On top of not being able to use her magic for a while, it appeared she wasn't quite back at full strength either.  
          
"HUMAN KRYS," Papyrus shouted to her across the chasm, "YOU HAVE DONE WELL.  YOU NOW FACE YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE."  
          
"I'm glad to hear that," Krys mumbled to herself.  
          
"YOU FACE, THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR."    
          
Papyrus pressed a button on a remote, and several dangerous looking weapons swung into view.  Krys spotted a spiked ball on a chain, a couple giant spears, a flame pit, a cannon, and....a dog on a rope?  Ok then.  Aside from the dog, this challenge was on a much deadlier scale than his previous puzzles had been.  
          
"WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!!  CANNONS WILL FIRE!  SPIKES WILL SWING!  BLADES WILL SLICE!  EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN!  ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!!  ARE YOU READY?!  BECAUSE! I!  AM!  ABOUT!  TO DO IT!!"  
          
Papyrus held the remote steady, but...nothing happened.    
          
Sans spoke up first.  "that doesn't look very activated, bro."  
          
Papyrus sighed.  "I KNOW.  I THOUGHT THAT EVEN THOUGH THIS CHALLENGE WOULD BE TOO DIFFICULT FOR THE SMALL HUMAN FRISK, THAT MAYBE THE BIG HUMAN KRYS WOULD BE ABLE TO DEAL WITH IT, BUT NOW I AM NOT SO SURE.  I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS, AFTER ALL."  
          
Krys' expression softened when she saw Papyrus' worried face.  She took off her cloak and stuffed it into her bag.  She was not about to let her tiredness get in the way of making Papyrus happy.  "I'm ready, Papyrus!"  
          
Papyrus looked surprised.  "ARE YOU SURE, HUMAN?"  
          
She drew her sword and dagger.  "I'm sure!"  
          
Papyrus' grin was back on his face, but Sans' eye sockets were wide in alarm.  Krys winked at him.  Sans was not amused.  
          
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT, HUMAN!"  
          
With a press of the remote, all the weapons swung violently across the bridge.  Krys watched the commotion for a moment, discerning the pattern, and then charged in.  She dodged, weaved, ducked, and dived through the various obstacles, blocking the swinging blades with her own when necessary.  With a final flourish, she cartwheeled over a cannonball, sliced the rope holding the dog, and landed on the other side of the bridge with the dog under her arm.  She remained in her pose for a moment, before sheathing her weapons and placing the dog on the ground.  The dog gave a small "yip!" and ran off.    
          
"So!" Krys took a deep breath and looked up at the two skeletons.  "How did I do?"  
          
Papyrus looked like his jaw was about to drop to the ground.  Sans was...well, Krys couldn't quite read his expression.  A mixture of relief, being impressed, and anger, perhaps?  He was the first one to notice the blood dripping down her arm, though.  
          
"ya did well, except for that," he nodded to her left arm.    
          
Krys looked down with surprise, which then shifted to annoyance.  Sure enough, one of the blades had caught her bicep.  "Damn."  She dug into her bag and pulled out a long cloth.  "I'm more tired than I thought, it seems," she muttered as she wrapped the cloth around her arm.    
          
"HUMAN, YOU ARE LEAKING!" Papyrus cried.  His hands were clutching his face in horror.  
          
"It's fine, Paps," Krys replied after using her right hand and teeth to tie a knot in the makeshift bandage. She had done this so many times, the action came fairly easily to her.  "I've had a lot worse cuts than this scratch."  A tired smile crossed her face.  "I probably won't even get a scar from this one."  
          
"NO NO NO, THIS WON'T DO!"  Papyrus immediately grabbed Krys and held her in the air over his head.  "YOU HAVE BEEN WOUNDED BY MY CHALLENGE, AND THE GREAT PAPYRUS MUST MAKE AMENDS!"  He charged off down the pathway with her in tow.    
          
"I'm fine, Papyrus!  Really I am!" Krys shouted.  "You can put me down!"  
          
Sans heard Krys' shouting and Papyrus' "NYEH-HEH-HEHs" fade into the distance as he watched them disappear down the path to Snowdin.  He wasn't quite sure what to make of the woman.  She avoided encounters with monsters, which was a good sign in his book, and she had played along with Papyrus' puzzles.  The way she danced through all the weapons on Paps' gauntlet, though...this woman was dangerous.    
          
Still, though...she had been quite impressive to watch...  
          
Sans felt a light blue blush creep onto his cheekbones.  He quickly shook his head to banish those thoughts.  At any rate, knowing Papyrus, his brother was probably bringing Krys to their house to fix spaghetti.  Sans gathered his magic and took a shortcut to meet the pair at the house.  He certainly didn't want to miss Krys' expressions when she witnessed Papyrus' culinary creations.


	11. Scars

The world flew by in a blur as Papyrus dashed down the path, still holding Krys high above his head.  No matter how much she tried to assure Papyrus that she could walk, he refused to slow or put her down, so Krys just accepted her fate.  She did wish that she had put her cloak back on, though.  The cold air whipping past her was relentless.  
          
She did manage to spot a large sign before they whizzed past.  "Welcome to Snowdin!" it proclaimed.    
          
 _Snowdin.  Snowed In.  Ha!  Clever._  
          
Several buildings and monsters blurred past her until finally, Papyrus came to a stop in front of a quaint two-story house.  The roof and balcony were decorated with Christmas lights.  Was it near Christmastime here?    
          
Papyrus gently set Krys down in the snow before opening the door with a flourish.  "WELCOME TO SCENIC OUR HOUSE!  PLEASE MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME!"  
          
He stepped aside to let Krys enter first and shut the door behind him as he followed.  Krys was surprised to find a rather cozy-looking house.  It was very warm inside.  There was a coat rack next to the door, so she took her cloak from her bag and hung it up next to the jackets and scarves.  Krys also removed her bag and weapon belt and placed them on the table nearby.  (It's extremely rude to wear weapons in a household when you're a guest.)  The table also had a plate with a rock covered in sprinkles placed upon it.    
          
"THAT'S SANS' PET ROCK," Papyrus was quick to explain.  "HE DOESN'T FEED IT LIKE HE SHOULD, SO I'VE TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT."    
          
"Ah, I see."  Krys didn't have the heart to explain that rocks didn't need to eat.  "You've done a fine job so far."  
          
Papyrus' grin was amazing to behold.  "THANK YOU, HUMAN KRYS.  IT IS NICE TO BE APPRECIATED!"  
          
He showed me around the house, first with the kitchen/dining room.  The most notable thing in there was the extremely tall sink.  "SO I CAN STORE MY SPARE BONES UNDER THERE," Papyrus explained to Krys.  
          
The living room was pretty sparse.  A large tv sat opposite a couch, though Krys did spot a single sock with a string of sticky notes nearby.  It appeared Sans and Papyrus had a rather amusing argument about putting the sock away.  Sans seemed to be winning, through laziness.  Somehow.  A set of stairs led up to a second floor with three doors.    
          
"What's up there?" Krys asked.    
          
"THE BEDROOMS OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND SANS!  ALSO A BATHROOM!"  Papyrus pointed to each door as he named them.  
          
"Ah, of course.  I should have guessed," Krys answered.  "Actually, could I use your bathroom really quick?  I probably should clean this cut and put a new bandage on it."  
          
"OF COURSE YOU CAN, HUMAN KRYS."  Papyrus' shoulders slumped, and the skeleton almost looked like he was about to cry.  "AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE FOR YOUR WOUND."     
          
"Oh!  Papyrus, really it's ok!"  Krys reached up to place a hand on his shoulder.  "It's really my fault for not being more careful.  I had a lot of fun!"  
          
Papyrus looked at her hopefully.  "REALLY?"  
          
"I promise!" Krys answered, trying to give a reassuring smile.  "It was just the kind of exercise I needed."  
          
"WELL," Papyrus straightened up and his smile returned.  "THEN WHILE YOU ARE TENDING TO YOUR WOUND, I WILL GO PREPARE SPAGHETTI!  TO MAKE AMENDS!"  
          
"Sounds good, Pap," Krys smiled.  
          
With that, Papyrus threw on a pink apron and disappeared into the kitchen, and Krys heard a rather large amount of commotion come from in there.  Surely spaghetti didn't require that many pots and pans?  
          
Sans' voice drifted down from the top floor, "need any help taking care of that cut, kiddo?"  
          
Krys jumped and looked up.  Sans was leaning against the railing, his head resting on one hand, gazing down at her.    
          
"How on earth did you get up there?" she asked.  "I didn't hear the front door open, and there's no way you beat Papyrus here!"  
          
Sans just shrugged.  "took a shortcut."  
          
"...Right."  Krys felt a headache coming on.  Pinching the bridge of her nose, she muttered, "Whatever you say, Sans."  
          
Sans' smile returned.  "you never answered me, kid.  you need any help taking care of your cut?"  
          
Krys really wanted to say no.  She didn't understand Sans.  First, he threatened her the very first day he met her, but just a few hours later he offers to help her.  This didn't exactly make a good foundation for a trusting friendship...but she was really tired, and it was rather difficult to tie a bandage well with one hand in the best of times.    
          
She sighed, "Yeah, if you want to help, you can."  She started up the staircase and headed towards the bathroom.  "Don't feel like you have to, though."  
          
The bathroom was the door between the two bedrooms.  It was a fairly simple bathroom with a sink and vanity mirror nearest to the door, followed by a toilet, and then a tub/shower on the far wall.  Krys walked in and carefully began unwrapping the cloth from her arm.  Sans didn't follow her in, so she assumed she was on her own for this.  She threw the bloody cloth in the trash can by the sink and examined her arm in the mirror.  It looked worse than it felt, but there was still some dried blood, so it was hard to tell for sure.  
          
Krys had just grabbed a washcloth and ran it under hot water from the sink when Sans walked in carrying a case of some kind.    
          
"we keep the first aid kit in the kitchen," he said in answer to her questioning gaze.  "had to run down and get it."  He set the kit on the lid of the toilet and sat down on the edge of the tub.  He patted the spot next to him and said, "sit here, and let me take a look at it."  
          
"Alright..."  Krys sat next to the skeleton.  
          
He took the damp washcloth from her and began gently cleaning away the rest of the dried blood.  Then he applied rubbing alcohol to the cut, which made it sting quite a bit.  Krys' only reaction was tightening her grip on her jeans.  She did not flinch away.    
          
Sans and Krys were quiet as he worked.  They both seemed to be deep in thought.  After a few minutes, Krys was the first to break the silence.  
          
"Thank you for your help, Sans."    
          
"eh," Sans replied as he pulled out a large rectangular bandage, "consider this thanks for making Pap happy."  He carefully applied the bandage to the cut and then started putting things away.  "you should be good to go now."  
          
Krys stood, rolled her shoulder and flexed her arm, testing the movement.  She nodded in approval.  "Thanks again.  It should be good as new in a couple of days."  Sans raised a brow bone at her.  "Hey, it looks worse than it is.  Just nicked the skin.  Didn't even hit the muscles. I heal fast, anyway."  
          
Sans finished putting away the first aid supplies and closed the kit.  He didn't make a move to stand up yet, though.  He seemed to sigh.  
          
"how did you get so many scars, Krys?" he asked quietly.  
          
Krys raised an eyebrow as she replied. "I thought that would have been obvious.  Battles, fights, times when I zigged when I should have zagged," Krys answered.  "Other times I bit off more than I could chew, and I got a few nasty cuts to show for it.  I've gotten much better at dodging since then, though."  She smiled at Sans.  "Most of these are pretty old.  In a couple of years, you probably won't even be able to see them."  
          
Sans did not return her smile.  "why have you fought so much?"  
          
Krys' smile faded and was replaced with a thoughtful expression.  She leaned against the wall, trying to come up with a good answer without telling too much about herself.  
          
"Let's just say..." she began, "that many of the places I've been were not as peaceful as it is here."  Her eyes focused on far off memories, "I've seen a lot of terrible things.  I fought to protect the good people in those places and to help others fix what was broken."  Her eyes turned back to focus on Sans.  "You were right when you said earlier that I've killed before, but I did so to defend those I cared about and those who couldn't protect themselves."  
          
The skeleton pondered her words for a bit and then nodded.  "that answer will do for now."  
          
Krys huffed a small laugh and shuffled out the door and down the stairs. Maybe she'd tell him more, maybe she won't.  That couch looked comfortable.  She flopped down on the left side of the couch, leaning against the armrest so that she could watch the door.  Old habits die hard.  Sans sidled past her and returned the first aid kit to the kitchen.  
          
"AH!  PERFECT TIMING, SANS!" Papyrus said excitedly.  "THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ABOUT TO REVEAL HIS LATEST CULINARY MASTERPIECE!"  
          
"sounds great, Pap."  
          
Papyrus lowered his voice a little, though Krys could probably still hear him clearly from the living room.  "IS THE HUMAN BETTER NOW?"  
         
"yup.  she's fine.  i last saw her sitting on the couch."  Sans jerked his thumb over his shoulder to the living room.  
          
"WELL, GET HER, PLEASE!  THE FEAST IS NOW PREPARED!"  Papyrus' voice was back to normal levels as he plated out the spaghetti noodles and poured the sauce over them.  "I AM SURE THAT THIS IS THE BEST SPAGHETTI YET!"  
          
Sans poked his head into the living room and then chuckled a bit.  "you'll probably have to put Krys' portion in the fridge, Paps."  
          
"WHY IS THAT?"  
          
"she's fallen asleep," Sans pointed to Krys' sleeping form on the couch.    
          
"OH."  Papyrus seemed disappointed for a moment before his bright smile returned.  "SHE WAS PROBABLY VERY TIRED.  MY PUZZLES WERE QUITE CHALLENGING FOR HER."  He slid Krys' portion of the pasta into a tupperware container and placed it in the fridge.  "THIS WILL MAKE A LOVELY ADDITION TO THE FOOD MUSEUM."  
          
Sans threw a blanket over Krys and carefully tucked a pillow behind her head before returning to his brother in the kitchen.  On his way he snagged Krys' journal from her bag again.  He wanted another look at those diagrams she had scribbled in there.  Some of them looked...familiar.


	12. Truths over Breakfast

Sans yawned and closed Krys' journal, placing it on the worktable.  After reading Papyrus a bedtime story, Sans had stayed up late that night in his lab behind the house, copying several of the diagrams from the journal.  The symbols were strange, but many of the equations and pictures reminded him of the work he and Gaster had done so long ago, especially the latest one.  He had to be sure, though.  Tomorrow he planned on visiting the library to look at the old scientific journals, bringing his copied designs with him.  If Gaster's old scientific notes corresponded with the diagrams from Krys' journal, he was going to see Alphys.  
          
In between copying out the meticulous figures and drawings, he had re-read many of the entries Krys had written.  He had started from the beginning of the book the first time he *ahem* borrowed it, but the strange thing was the writing picked up in the middle of a sentence, as if this "first" entry was a continuation from previous pages.  Some of the later writings would refer to stories that didn't appear in the book.  The journal showed no signs of having any pages torn out, though.  Strange.  Did she have a second book around?  
          
He had to skim over various entries.  They would each make for riveting stories on their own.  Stories from lands Sans had never heard of filled with people, places, and things that could only be found in dreams and imagination, often with tales of horror and tragedy that would be found in nightmares.  The entries would follow a set of heroes that Krys would attach herself to and assist along the way.  Krys had even included illustrations: detailed maps, representations of various creatures, pictures of notable people mentioned, and even drawings of various rare plants she had found.  She was either incredibly creative, a talented liar, frightfully insane, or...perhaps she really was a dimension jumper of sorts.  
          
Some of the more personal entries were filled with Krys' thoughts on various "worlds" or "universes" and how they fit together.  She sounded an awful like like Gaster had when he was talking about various timelines or alternate universes.  
          
A few of the entries detailed the Void Between Worlds that had to be traversed to go from one universe to another.  Every one of those was unsettling.  Sans preferred not to linger on those.  
          
The strangest part to Sans was that the journal didn't have anything about Krys' home.  Nothing about any family, either.  Where did she come from?  
          
The other question Sans had was that if Krys really was able to travel from one universe into another, where did she get the sheer amount of power and energy to do that?    
         
With a sigh, Sans checked the time on his phone.  It was 3 in the morning.  Paps would be getting up in a few hours, probably waking up Krys in the process.    
          
"better try to get some sleep," Sans mumbled to himself.    
          
He took a shortcut back to the house, first sliding the journal back into Krys' bag, and then teleported to his bedroom.  Not even bothering to take off his jacket, he fell face-first onto his bed and fell fast asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~  
          
A door slamming shut upstairs jolted Krys from her sleep.  She was confused to find herself lying on a couch with a blanket and pillow until she remembered the events of the day before.  With a small grumble, she sat up and stretched.    
          
"AH!  YOU ARE AWAKE, HUMAN KRYS!" Papyrus called from the landing upstairs.  "DID I WAKE YOU?"  
          
Krys looked up to see Papyrus standing outside of his door with a worried expression.  He must've slammed his door when he came out of his room.    
          
"Yeah," she answered, "but that's ok.  I probably should get up anyway."  She smiled crookedly up at him.  "Did you forget I was here?"  
          
"NONSENSE!" Papyrus replied.  "THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEVER FORGETS ANYTHING.  Though he may have forgotten you were still asleep this once..."  His grin returned as he bounded down the stairs.  "HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE AWAKE, THAT MEANS YOU CAN JOIN US FOR BREAKFAST!"  He ran into the kitchen and then poked his head back out to ask, "COULD YOU PLEASE WAKE SANS FOR ME?"    
          
"Sure thing, Papyrus," Krys said as she stood and stretched some more.  "I'll change my clothes while I'm at it."    
          
Krys grabbed the remaining bundle of clothes from her bag and climbed the staircase.  She stopped by Sans' door first and knocked politely.  A low grumbling was the only answer from within, soon followed by snores.  Krys knocked again.    
          
"Sans?  Papyrus asked me to get you up," she called.  
         
"-s morning already?"   
          
There was a thump, like Sans had literally just fallen out of the bed, and then slow shuffling footsteps towards the door.  Sans opened the door a crack and stared bleary-eyed at Krys.  He yawned and a tired smile spread across his face.    
          
"sup, kiddo?"  
          
Krys looked at him with concern.  The skeleton looked exhausted, and his clothes were wrinkled as if he had slept in them.  There were even bags under his eye sockets.  Somehow.   
         
"Well," she hesitated, then decided to not ask Sans about his night.  "Papyrus said something about breakfast?"  
          
"eh, better go down and help him out, i guess."  Sans shuffled out the door and towards the stairs.  "if i don't, we'll be eating leftover spaghetti for breakfast."  
          
"What's wrong with that?" Krys asked.  
          
"don't get me wrong, pap's cooking has improved quite a bit since he started.  his pasta is almost edible now," Sans replied as he went down the stairs.  "it's just not something someone should start their day with."  
          
"Ah," Krys answered.  
          
She quickly ducked into the bathroom and changed her outfit, wearing a long loose-fitting blue tunic and dark stretchy pants.  Perfect for going to go practice with her weapons later.  She re-braided her hair and brushed her teeth.  After dropping the dirty clothes in the hamper, Krys emerged from the bathroom and went down the stairs to join the brothers.  
          
The most heavenly smell of bacon and eggs drew her to the kitchen.  Sans was already sitting at the dining table.  Three plates had been set out, and two platters with mounds of bacon and eggs were in the center of the table.  Papyrus was placing the pans into the sink.  
          
"THERE YOU ARE, HUMAN KRYS!"  Papyrus pulled out a chair for Krys at the table before taking the third seat.  "SANS INFORMED ME THAT HUMANS PREFER EGGS AND BACON FOR BREAKFAST, SO YOU WILL HAVE TO TRY MY PASTA PERFECTIONS ANOTHER TIME."  
          
"Bacon and eggs are just fine, Papyrus.  Thank you," Krys said as she sat down.  As she spooned some eggs and slices of bacon onto her plate, she tried to figure out how to get out of eating Papyrus' "almost edible" spaghetti without upsetting him.  "Maybe we can make spaghetti together sometime?"  
          
Papyrus' gasped with joy before proclaiming, "THAT IS A WONDERFUL IDEA!  THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD LOVE TO SHARE HIS COOKING SECRETS WITH YOU!"  His face fell when he remembered something, though.  "BUT IF YOU ARE CAPTURED AND GIVEN TO UNDYNE, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI TOGETHER..."  
          
"maybe you could be friends with krys too, paps," Sans said through a mouthful of eggs.  
          
"BUT SANS, THEN I COULD NEVER BE PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD!  I'LL NEVER BE POPULAR!"  
          
Krys chewed her food thoughtfully.  "Theoretically, Papyrus, what would happen to me after you captured me?"  
          
Papyrus seemed a little uncomfortable being asked so directly.  "WELL...UNDYNE WOULD BRING YOU TO THE CASTLE TO ASGORE THE KING AND...."    
          
"He'd take my soul to break the barrier, right?" Krys finished for him.  
          
"WELL.  UM.  YES."    
          
Papyrus definitely seemed uncomfortable.  Sans watched Krys from the corner of his eye, trying to figure out where she was going with this.  
          
Krys took a deep breath.  Sans already had some idea about her, so it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to tell the skeletons the truth, or at least some of it.  
          
"Here's the thing.  I don't think my soul would work.  At least not yet," she began.  
          
"WHY NOT?" Papyrus asked, tilting his head in confusion.  
          
"Because I'm not a human."  
          
"WHAAAAT?!"  Papyrus was shocked.  "BUT YOU MUST BE HUMAN!  YOU HAVE SKIN LIKE THE HUMAN FRISK DOES!"  
          
Sans just smiled to himself and listened intently.  Finally he might be getting a few answers.  
          
Krys set down her fork and leaned back in her chair, trying to get her thoughts in order.  She didn't think she had ever explained what she was before.  She glanced over at both Sans and Papyrus.  Sans seemed intrigued while Papyrus was incredibly confused.  
          
"I know I look human, but I'm not," Krys explained.  "From what I understand, humans and monsters are born with souls, and that soul gives them life, right?"  Both skeletons nodded.  "Well, my soul is a little different.  Let me show you."    
          
Krys brought her right hand in front of her, closed in a fist.  She closed her eyes and concentrated.  The vision of her soulfire bloomed in her mind.  Though the flame was still small, it burned steadily and brightly.  Slowly opening her hand, she brought the flame out into the open.  When her eyes were open again, the silver flame was hovering above her palm, encased in a crystalline heart.  She tilted her head at the sight.    
          
That heart is new...  
          
Faint memories flashed in her mind of another hand holding her inner flame inside this heart.  A white hand of bone, with a hole in the palm.  Then the memory faded.    
          
Ah, that's right...the heart is my Soul.  Though, I'm not sure how I know that...  
          
Both of the skeletons were staring at her and the soul.  Papyrus abruptly broke eye contact when Krys turned to look at him, and turned his head away, his cheeks glowing a soft orange color.  
          
"Is something the matter?" Krys asked the tall skeleton.  
          
"WELL...UMM...."  The orange in his cheeks intensified.  
          
"usually people don't bring out their souls to show anyone," Sans interjected.  "not unless they're in a fight, getting healed, or are in a rather...intimate setting."  He coughed.  His cheeks were a light blue now.   
          
Krys blinked, and then burst into laughter once she realized what Sans was talking about.  "Guys, it's fine!  I'm just doing this to show you what I'm talking about."    
          
Slowly the brothers turned their gaze back to Krys, though the blushes did not fade.    
          
"As I was saying," Krys began again, "this silver fire you see here is my spirit, my soulfire.  Monsters and humans are born with a soul, and that soul is what gives them life.  Well for me, that flame," she gestured with her left hand, "is what gives me life.  This soul here is just the container for it."  Both of the brothers seemed interested now, their embarrassment fading.  "This fire is everything.  It gives me life, and I draw my powers from it.  Right now it's small because I used too much energy recently.  Usually the flame is quite a bit stronger."  

"IT CERTAINLY LOOKS BETTER THAN IT DID EARLIER..." Papyrus murmured to himself. He must not have meant to say that because he suddenly covered his mouth in shock.

Krys narrowed her eyes slightly. "You've seen my soulfire before? I thought you said that people don't bring out their souls."

"we kinda had to, kid. tori was freaking out and you weren't waking up. we thought something was wrong with your soul, so we checked on it," Sans said. His expressions was rather grave, even though that smile of his was still present. "that fire of yours was about to go out, but when paps used his healing magic on you, it must've stabilized it."

"Huh..." Krys certainly hadn't expected that. "I guess I owe you guys my life, then. Thank you."

An awkward silence fell over the table before Sans broke it with another question.  
          
"so you can use magic?" Sans asked.  
          
Krys nodded.  "I can, but I won't been able to for a while because I have to draw on the flame to do so."  She released the soul and absorbed her flame back into her body.  Lowering her hand back to the table, she continued, "If I use too much power, the flame will die, and if the flame dies, I die.  As long as that fire is burning, I will live."  
          
"WOWIE...." Papyrus whispered.  
          
Krys smiled and nibbled on a slice of bacon.    
          
"so...all that is fascinating and all," Sans said, "but what does that make you, exactly?"  
          
"Well, I'm certainly not a human, but I'm not sure you have a word for it, actually," Krys answered.  "We called ourselves 'The People of the Flame', essentially."  
          
"SO THERE ARE MORE LIKE YOU?" Papyrus asked excitedly.  
          
Krys' expression darkened briefly before she sighed.  "Not...not anymore, Pap.  I'm pretty sure I'm the last one."  She went back to finishing her breakfast.  
          
Papyrus' smile drooped.  "OH."  
          
Sans' eyes widened in surprise.  What could he say?    
          
Krys, realizing that both the skeletons were silent, looked back up at them.  She smiled.  "It's ok, guys.  Really."    
          
"ARE YOU SURE, KRYS?" Papyrus asked.    
          
"I'm sure," she answered quickly.    
          
Papyrus seemed to think hard for a moment.  "WELL...I GUESS THIS ALL MEANS THAT I DON'T HAVE TO CAPTURE YOU!"    
          
Krys nodded.  "And we can make that friendship spaghetti together sometime."  
          
"YES!"  Papyrus leaped to his feet.  "AND WE CAN BE THE BEST OF FRIENDS!"  
          
"Exactly!"  Krys laughed.    
          
Suddenly Papyrus gasped and looked at his phone.  "I MUST GO!  UNDYNE AND I HAVE SPECIAL ONE-ON-ONE TRAINING!  SEE YOU BOTH LATER!"  
          
With amazing speed, Papyrus ran out the door and was out of sight.  
          
Krys gathered the plates and carefully put them in the sink.  Sans watched her closely.  She had smiled and laughed, but he could tell she was hiding behind those smiles.  He had done it enough himself to know.  
          
"so, krys."  She turned to look at him.  "what do you plan to do today?"  
          
She shrugged.  "I thought I'd go to the ruins and spend some time with Toriel and Frisk.  Find a clear spot to run through some of my weapon techniques."  
          
"weapon techniques?  why?"  
          
"Just to stay in shape, that's all.  Consider it solo training."  She smiled again and then went to gather her things.  
          
"welp," Sans stood and stretched.  "guess i'd better come along and keep you company."  
          
Krys paused as she was slipping on her weapon belt.  "Still keeping an eye socket on me?"  
          
"yup."  
          
"Then I suggest changing your clothes first.  I'll wait here for you."  
          
Sans walked up the stairs to his bedroom.  "nah, go on ahead.  i'll catch up."  He winked at her.  "don't get too bonely without me."  
          
Krys snickered and waved at him.  "See you soon, Sans."  Then she closed the door behind her and started the walk to the ruins.  
          
Sans padded into his room.  What was he going to do with this information now?  Krys just told them that she was the last of her entire species.  Maybe....he could talk to her.  About the resets.  About the genocide runs.  Because he actually knew what it was like to be one of the last ones left.    
          
"we'll see," he muttered to himself.    
          
He changed into some cleaner clothes and prepared to take a shortcut to the ruins.  Sans looked forward to seeing her face when she saw he beat her there.


	13. Encounter with a Flower

The walk from Snowdin to the ruins was peaceful.  Krys nodded politely to monsters as she passed, and they surprisingly smiled back.  Some even waved.  These were indeed the friendliest monsters she had met.  Friendlier than other races she had met, even.  It really was a travesty that these monsters were trapped underground.    
          
Really the only dangerous one she had met so far had been.....Scratch that.  Anyone can be dangerous under the right circumstances.  The only violent one she had met so far had been that talking flower.  What made that weed different from the other monsters?  And why did Frisk stop her from killing it?  
          
Krys pondered this while her steady footsteps crunched through the snow.  As she walked further and further from Snowdin, the number of monsters she met dwindled.  Finally out deep in the forest, she found herself alone.    
           
_Sans still hasn't caught up to me...I wonder if I should turn back and wait for him._  
          
Krys turned to look behind her and spotted a flash of yellow that disappeared into the ground.  She frowned. She recognized that shade of yellow.  
          
 _Speak of the devil, and he shall appear._  
          
Quickly looking around, she saw the flash of yellow again.  Hmm...  Krys took off walking again but kept her eye on the forest around her.  Hearing a rustling behind her, she whirled around and spotted the yellow color again, even spying the flower's face before it dropped below ground again.  The little flower was trying to stalk her.  Now she was getting angry.  She drew her sword and dagger.  If this flower was trying to scare her, she was not going to give it the satisfaction.    
          
She called out to the forest, "I know you're there, weed!"  No answer.  "I have hunted and been hunted by better predators than you, so I suggest you end your little game and show yourself," she growled.  
          
After a moment the flower appeared from the snow in front of her.  It smiled up at her.  "Howdy!"  
          
Krys' left hand held onto the dagger, but she let it fall to her side.  "Yes.  Howdy," she hissed.  She pointed her sword at the plant, the blade mere inches from its smiling features.  "You've got a lot of nerve showing your face around me again.  What do you want, weed?"  
          
"Hey now, hold on a moment," the flower said, raising its leaves as if in surrender.  "I think we got off on the wrong foot here.  I thought we could start over again."  It smiled up at her, "My name is Flowey!  Flowey the flower!"  It looked up at her expectantly.  
          
Krys did not lower her sword.  Her voice was flat.  "Hello, Flowey.  My name is Krys.  Now, what do you want?"  
          
The flower looked hurt.  "Aw, that's mean.  What makes you think I want anything?"  
          
She did not answer.  Her blue eyes gazed evenly down at the flower at the end of her blade.  
          
Flowey swayed back and forth for a moment before speaking up again.  "Well, you're right.  I do want something.  Specifically, I want to know something."  
          
"And what would that be?" Krys inquired.  
          
Suddenly thorny vines erupted from the ground all around her and reached for her.  Flowey's smiling face had been replaced with a twisted angry one.  
          
"What did you do with the reset button?!" he screamed.  
          
Krys just stepped forward and stuck the sword tip below Flowey's head.  "I suggest you stand down, weed.  You won't like what happens next if you don't."  
          
The vines stopped moving.  Flowey glared at her for several moments before pulling the vines back below ground.  Krys removed her sword from the plant but kept it pointed at him.  
          
"Now," she said, "explain."  
          
Flowey growled for a moment until finally beginning to speak.  "Before Frisk came here, I had the power to reset.  I could do whatever I wanted and then go back in time like it never happened."  His wide grin revealed fangs, "I was a god!"  He glanced off to the side and continued.  "Then Frisk fell down here and I wasn't able to reset anymore.  They could.  And something amazing happened!"  Flowey's smile returned.  "Chara came back!  She took over!  We were finally together again!"  
          
Krys tilted her head, interested.  This Flowey knew Chara...and Chara had been gone for some time, huh?  
          
Flowey turned his glare back at Krys.  "Then you came and ruined everything!  You did something to Frisk's soul and now Chara can't come back!  You know what else?  Frisk can't reset!"  
          
Eyebrows raised in surprise, Krys asked, "Why not?"  
          
"I don't know!  Maybe they don't have as much Determination as they did before, or whatever you did blocks resets!"  Flowey's eyes narrowed, "Or maybe **you** have the reset button!"  
          
Krys shook her head.  "I don't have whatever this 'reset button' is, Flowey.  If I did, I still wouldn't use it.  Time travel is not something I like to mess with.  Besides, what do you care?  You haven't been able to reset for a while now, right?"  
          
"You don't get it!" Flowey hissed at her.  "We could do whatever we wanted, and if we didn't like it, we could reset and no one but us would remember.  No mistake was too big because all we had to do was go back."  
          
"Sounds to me that you're afraid," Krys replied.    
          
"What?!"  Flowey laughed at her.  "I can't be afraid!  I don't have a soul!  I'm not able to be afraid!"  
          
"Oh but you are," Krys countered with a smirk.  "You're afraid that what you do will have consequences that you can't erase.  You're afraid that whatever you do, you'll have to live with it for the rest of your life."  She sheathed her weapons and smiled sadly down at the flower.  "That's how life is supposed to work, Flowey.  Better get used to it."    
          
Krys continued her walk to the ruins, leaving the flower behind.  Flowey watched her leave, his leaves shaking with rage.  The rage shifted to sadness.  Finally, he disappeared below the snow.

~*~*~*~*~  
          
The rest of the walk to the ruins was thankfully uneventful, leaving Krys free to think.  She would need to talk with Frisk sometime soon.  About Flowey.  About the resets.  About Chara.  There was a lot she still didn't quite understand, and it seemed Frisk was the only person she could really get answers from.  
          
Finally, she came to the great stone doors.  Krys raised her hand, about to knock, when soft snores turned her attention to the side.  There, sitting on the ground and leaning against the wall, was Sans, sound asleep.  His outfit was exactly the same as when she had last seen him, but the clothes were mostly wrinkle-free.  Did he just have a lot of white t-shirts and black shorts?  
          
She crouched down next to him and laid her hand on his shoulder.  Sans jumped at her touch and turned to look at her.    
          
"heya, krys."  He stretched and shifted to his feet.  "you were taking so long i decided to take a nap.  what took you so long, anyway?"  
          
"Just had some things to think about," Krys answered.  "How'd you get here before me, anyway?"  
          
Sans just grinned.  "Took a shortcut."  
          
Before Krys could ask him about his miraculous shortcuts, Sans knocked on the door.  Toriel appeared mere seconds later, as if she knew they were coming.  She wrapped them both in a warm hug.  
          
"Krys, Sans, it's good to see you two."  The goatly monster smiled down at the two of them and led them back upstairs.  "Sans called to tell me you two were coming.  Frisk is excited to see you both."  
          
Frisk was there to greet them at the top of the stairs.  The kid launched themselves at Sans and embraced him in a hug before turning and doing the same with Krys.    
          
They spent a lovely morning together chatting about random things over some lovely biscuits and tea that Toriel provided.  Eventually Frisk said they wanted to show Krys around the ruins.  Krys turned to invite Sans to go with them, but he had fallen asleep.  Again.  
          
Frisk just laughed.  "He can fall asleep anywhere," they explained.  "Come on!  I've got to introduce you to the monsters here!"  They dragged Krys out the front door to the ruins.  
          
"Have fun, my children!" Toriel called.


	14. Serious Matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exposition time!

Krys laid her cloak down on the leaves by the dead tree in front of Toriel's house and sat there, resting her back against the trunk.  Frisk sat down beside her.  Together the two of them munched on surprisingly tasty spider donuts from the spider bake sale.  
         
The last couple of hours had been eventful.  Frisk excitedly dragged Krys around all the ruins, showing her the various puzzles and monsters that inhabited it.  Krys had even met a friendly, if nervous, ghost named Napstablook.  Frisk had ended the tour at the spider bake sale and purchased some pastries before they had returned to Toriel's house.    
          
What a strange world.  Even the spiders are fairly friendly, as far as spiders go.  
         
Eating the last of her donut, Krys looked down at Frisk.  The child was leaning on her now, curled up against her side.  Krys wrapped her arm around them and gave Frisk a gentle squeeze.   
          
 _Well...now's as good a time as any, I suppose._  
         
"Frisk, would you mind explaining a few things to me?" Krys asked.  
         
"Sure!" Frisk answered.  
       
"Could you tell me about Chara and Flowey?"  
         
Frisk shifted uncomfortably.  "Ok...Well...It's kind of a long story?"  
       
"I've got time."

Frisk glanced back at Toriel's house.  When they saw that neither Sans nor Toriel were nearby, Frisk told Krys about Chara, the first human child that had fallen into the underground.  The King and Queen's son, Asriel, had found Chara soon after she had fallen and took her home to the castle.  The King and Queen adopted Chara as their own daughter, and Chara and Asriel had become best friends as well as siblings.  Then one day Chara became sick and died.  Her last wish was that she could see the golden flowers of her home village, but because of the barrier, no one could grant her that wish.  Once Chara had died, Asriel absorbed Chara's soul and became a supremely powerful being.  Asriel, now with a human and monster soul, took Chara's body across the barrier and laid her in a patch of golden flowers in the village square.  Then the screams began.  The humans, mistakenly believing that Asriel had killed Chara, attacked the monster with everything they had.  Asriel could have killed them all.  But he didn't.  He just picked up Chara's body and returned across the barrier to the underground.  There, in the King's garden, Asriel succumbed to his wounds and collapsed into dust.    
          
The entire underground fell into despair.  The King and Queen were devastated.  They had lost both of their children in one day.  Once again the humans had stolen the hope of the underground.  Asgore's sorrow turned to rage, and the King declared war on the humans and decreed that every human who fell into the underground would be killed and their souls collected.  Once seven souls had been gathered, then Asgore would absorb them all and break the barrier.  Then the monsters would attack humanity and wipe them out.  Then monsters could finally live on the surface in peace.  Free.  
          
The Queen was outraged and disgusted with Asgore's decision to kill humans, so she left the castle, never to return.  
          
Krys listened intently.  There was a lot more to monster history than Toriel had originally told her.  It was even more tragic than she had thought.  
          
"Why didn't Toriel tell me about all this?" she wondered aloud.  
          
Frisk glanced back at the house again before whispering to Krys, "Because Toriel is the Queen.  Chara and Asriel were her kids."  Suddenly Toriel's motherly behavior made sense.  "Please don't tell her you know she's the Queen or mention Chara or Asriel to her.  She doesn't know that I know."  
         
Krys nodded, much to Frisk's relief.  "I won't tell her."  She thought for a few minutes.  "So, where does Flowey fit into all of this?  And if Chara is dead...how has she stuck around to become..."  Krys trailed off, hand motioning in the air.  
          
"I don't know everything," Frisk answered.  "But Flowey told me once that he woke up in the King's garden.  He was really scared because he didn't have arms or legs anymore.  Asgore found him crying in the garden and tried to take care of Flowey, but Flowey couldn't feel anything.  No love, no hate, nothing.  Eventually he ran off and found Toriel here.  Still he couldn't feel anything.  Then...after he tried to kill himself...he suddenly became determined to live.  He discovered he could reset time."  
          
"So...Flowey is actually..." Krys began.  
          
"Asriel.  Yes, I'm pretty sure.  But there's more to it!" Frisk replied.  "He doesn't have a soul.  He can't feel love or anything like that anymore.  That's why he's so mean when Asriel wasn't."  
          
"How did Asriel come back to life as a soulless flower, then?" Krys asked.  
          
Frisk shook their head and looked down at the ground.  "I don't know.  I don't think Flowey knows, either."  
          
"Ok then..."  Krys moved on to her next question.  "So what about Chara, then?"  
          
Frisk was ready for that question.  "You know how human souls stick around for a bit after their body has died?  Well, they do that because humans have Determination, a lot more than monsters do.  Chara had a lot of it.  So much that she's stuck around for this long."  
          
Krys frowned now.  "It's not good for a soul to remain for so long after death.  They tend to...change.  Usually not for the better."  
          
Frisk just nodded sadly.  
          
The two of them sat together in silence for a few minutes, listening to the far away sounds of monsters chattering to each other.  Krys was pretty sure she could faintly hear Toriel humming something back in the house.  
          
Krys broke the silence.  "You sure know a lot about all this, Frisk."  
          
"Well, it took a long time for me to learn all of this.  I learned a little more with each reset," Frisk answered.  
          
"I see."  Krys sat up and turned to face Frisk.  "Could you tell me about the resets, then?"  
          
Frisk took a breath, but before she could begin speaking a deep voice interrupted.  
          
"i think i can answer that question for ya."  Sans was standing next to the two.  
          
Frisk squeaked in surprise, and Krys had jumped to her feet with a hand already reaching for her sword before she realized it was the friendly skeleton next to them.  Her left hand drummed her fingers on her sword hilt as she glared at Sans.  Sans grinned in reply.  
          
"aw, gee, don't look so happy to see me, Krys.  you looked like you were about to jump out of your skin."  He winked at her.  
          
Krys took a deep breath and sat down as she exhaled.  "My apologies," she said as she wrapped her arm around Frisk again.  "I don't handle surprises well."  
          
"so i see," Sans chuckled.  He sat down on the ground facing them and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.  "i'll have to remember that."  
          
"How long have you been there, Sans?" Frisk asked, sincerely hoping that Sans hadn't heard about Flowey or Chara.  
          
"eh, not long," the skeleton shrugged, while Frisk let out a little sigh of relief.  "i woke up, found you two outside, and heard Krys ask about the resets.  is it ok with you if i explain it, kid?"  
          
Frisk nodded.  "Yes, that's fine.  You'll probably explain it better than I can."  
          
Sans' smile widened a bit, and he turned his focus onto Krys.  "so, what do you know about timelines?"  
          
Sans' explanation of resets was...complicated.  He went into technical details using words like "timespace continuum" and "anomalies", and his voice seemed to pick up speed the deeper into the explanation he went.  Krys did her best to follow along, but science wasn't exactly her strongest subject.  She preferred magic and biology.  Quantum mechanics went right over her head, along with chemistry and anything else needing high levels of math to complete.  It wasn't that she was stupid, but she just never had the opportunity to learn about these subjects. Sans must have seen her eyes glaze over because he stopped almost mid-sentence.  
          
"eh, sorry Krys," he said, rubbing the back of his head with his left hand.  "let me start again.  the long and short of it is that Frisk here is able to jump into different timelines because of their high Determination.  if they die, or decide that something isn't to their liking, they're able to reset try again," Sans finished.  "almost everyone else forgets what happened in past timelines, excepting frisk, myself, and flowey."  
          
"I see," Krys said, really appreciating this simpler explanation.  "I have a pretty good idea of why Frisk and Flowey remember, but why do you?"  
          
"i didn't at first," Sans replied.  "but i'm really good at reading faces.  i already knew that there was something disrupting the timelines from some research i had worked on a long time ago.  i saw how Frisk acted and put two and two together.  eventually, as the resets went on, i started remembering things."   _and the nightmares.  those don't let me forget._  
          
Sans kept that last thought to himself.  
          
Krys glanced over at Frisk.  "Are you still able to reset now?"  
          
"Um, I think so," Frisk answered.  "I haven't checked yet."  Frisk's eyes became cloudy and unfocused for a moment.  When Frisk's attention returned back to Krys, they seemed confused and a little afraid.  "It's weird.  I can't see the buttons now.  There's like this bright light all around instead, like a fire?  But it's white?"  
          
"Is it the same color as the flame wall I put around your soul?" Krys asked quickly.  
          
"Yeah," Frisk replied.  
          
Krys closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the tree.  "So the flower was right..." Krys mumbled to herself.  
          
Frisk definitely started to look panicked now.  "What's going on?"  
          
Krys opened her eyes and focused back on Frisk.  "May I see your soul?"  
          
Frisk looked confused but brought their soul out into the open.  The bright red heart was nestled in a large silver-white flame.  The flame wall was holding on its own now, not needing Krys to maintain it.  
          
After examining it, Krys motioned back to Frisk.  "You can put it back now.  Thank you."  She thought for a moment as the soul faded.  "I think...when I put up that barrier around your soul to keep Chara out, I also blocked your ability to reset.  The flames will keep anything from reaching into your soul to tamper with it, but it also keeps your soul from reaching out to mess with the timeline."  Krys' eyes focused on Frisk's face.  "It's also possible that the barrier around your soul is feeding off of your Determination now.  I'm not feeding it energy anymore, but it's still going strong."  
          
Frisk was definitely panicked now.  "Does that mean Flowey can reset now?!  What's going to happen if I die or make a mistake?  What if someone else dies?  I can't go back and fix anything!"  Their eyes started to tear up.  "And if you take the barrier down, then Chara can get me!"   
          
"No, no, no, Frisk.  It's ok."  Krys wrapped her arms around Frisk and ran her fingers through the child's hair, trying to comfort them.  "I'm not going to let you die if I can at all help it.  Chara can't control you now, so you're not going to kill anyone, right?"  Frisk nodded, tears still threatening to spill from their eyes.  "And I promise, I will not kill anyone here, if I have any control over it.  Ok?"   
          
Frisk nodded, but they were still trembling.  
          
"don't forget about me here, kiddo," Sans added.  He scooted over to sit next to Frisk and placed a bony hand on their shoulder.  "i made a promise to look out for you, and i intend to keep it."  
          
The three of them remained this way until Frisk's trembling ceased and their breathing calmed.  Krys barely heard the child's soft question as they pulled away.   
          
"What about Flowey?"  
          
Krys just shook her head.  "Flowey can't reset either."  
          
"how do you know?" Sans interjected, "eyebrow" raised.  
          
Krys grimaced.  "I met him on my way here.  That's why I was so slow."  
          
Sans eyes went dark.  "why didn't you tell me that flowey stopped you?  are you hurt?  did he do anything to you?"  
          
"I'm fine, Sans," Krys quickly answered.  "I'm fine.  No new scratches or anything.  We just talked."    
          
His eyelights came back after a moment, but Sans' ever-present smile was most definitely forced.    
          
Silence fell over the courtyard.  Frisk leaned back against the tree and stared at the ground, deep in thoughts.  Krys could tell they were still worried.  Sans' hands were stuffed back into his hoodie pockets, and his expression shifted back and forth between worry and...relief?  Hope?  Krys wasn't quite sure what was going on in his head.  After a while, Krys couldn't take the heavy silence any longer.  
          
Krys reached into her bag and pulled out her journal.  "You two want to see something cool?"  
          
Both Frisk and Sans looked up at Krys and then down to the book.  
          
Krys pointed at the crystals on the front cover.  "You see these?  They're not just for decoration."  
          
She placed the journal on the ground.  Her hand took on a faint glow, and she tapped the crystal at the top of the cross formation.  The crystal started glowing, pulsating a soft blue light, and it rose to hover a few inches above the journal.  Suddenly a jazzy tune echoed throughout the ruins.  Krys turned to smile at her two companions.  
          
"These are data crystals, from my home you see," Krys explained.  "I use these to store information.  This one," she motioned to the glowing blue crystal, "is one of the ones I use to record music.  The sound quality isn't the greatest playing directly from it, admittedly, but if I find a way to connect it to something with speakers, it'll sound phenomenal."  She waited for a response, but Sans and Frisk were silent.  "What do you think?"  
          
A huge grin spread across Frisk's face.  "That's so cool, Krys!  What kinds of music do you have?"  
          
Krys' smile soon matched Frisk's, and with some motions of her hands the music changed a few times.  First instrumental, then some rock music, some rhythmic drumming, and then finally settling on some swing music.  Frisk laughed in delight.  
          
Sans was amazed.  Who would have known that those pretty crystals actually held secrets?  Who knows what was stored in there?  
          
Suddenly Krys jumped to her feet and pulled Frisk with her.  "Come on, Frisk!"  
          
"What, why?  What are we doing?" Frisk asked.  
          
"I'm going to teach you how to dance!" Krys answered as she took off her weapon belt and laid it on the cloak.  "I was a dancer long before I was a fighter, and it would be nice to finally have someone to dance with."  
          
Frisk hugged themselves and looked away.  "But I don't know how to..."  
          
"Perfect!"  Krys offered her hands to Frisk.  "Everyone starts somewhere, sweetheart.  Let's have some fun for a while."  She winked at the child.  "Just trust me.  I'll lead."


	15. A/N - The Rewrites!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I'm working on a re-write of this story, and that the first two chapters are up in my other fic - Soul of Silver Flames. Here's the link if you guys are interested: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9543938/chapters/21580667

I've been working on Krys' character more, and changed a lot of her backstory, so a lot of the original interactions I had with her and Sans didn't quite work out the way they would with her new redesign. Go check it out and let me know what you think!


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